UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
NO. 18 KENTUCKY VS. NO. 6 MISSISSIPPI STATE
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
 
Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening statement…
“Proud of the team today, they really had to work hard, fight hard to win. Mississippi State is such a talented team, such a powerful team, incredibly athletic and they play so hard, put so much pressure on you and they are a really, really good team. So, we had to fight hard to win it. I just don’t know how you could ask more of the team, they really fought hard, battled, had some great practices to get ready and went out and earned a big win for us. Proud of them.”
 
On what you said in the first timeout…
“Tried to keep our poise there. Nothing in those first three possessions looked like what we practiced. We had an outstanding practice yesterday, and then we had a very energetic session this morning and I just basically tried to say this is not what we practiced. They are doing exactly what we prepared for and were ready for it and I think by the time I already got in the huddle, they pretty much settled themselves down too, and just said hey we have to do a lot better. I think one thing that Mississippi State can do is their speed is just so elite, they have elite-level speed, so maybe we were just not quite ready for that but I thought we settled in and had a good run there, it was a 14-2 run after that. That instilled a lot of belief in us that we could get the job done. Credit to the players for getting it together, you know you don’t ever want to have that happen in the game, but they got it together and did a good job.”
 
On Rhyne Howard’s toughness even with a hand injury…
“She is an elite player. She is an elite talent. She has an elite competitive spirt. She wants to win and she went out and made some big plays for us today, but I do think it was a team effort. We talked before the game, we had to drive the ball at them. We could not mess around and throw lazy passes and let someone else do it. We have the ball and we do feel like we have some guards that can make plays. You have to be tough with the ball and get downhill and you have to try to go to the basket and play with tremendous fire in this because they are some that are so physical, disruptive, and tough. So, we knew we had to be tough. We had a really poor practice on Friday and were not handling their action very well. We just tried to go back and we had a good film session yesterday and focus on our fundamentals. If you don’t get fundamentally sound here, you’ll do what you’re supposed to do that will lead you to a spot where you can out tough them if it’s there. I thought Mississippi State played tough as well but I thought we were tough enough to win and I’m was proud of the team for doing that.”
 
On the defense in the second half and Sabrina Haines’ performance…
“I thought they came out of the half really intent on getting the ball, and Jessika Carter, she is such a match-up problem for us and I thought the players really adjusted well and started getting in there and tried to crowd the paint and be a little bit more active with our feet and our hands. We just were able to get our hands on the basketball and deflect some passes and come up with some 50-50 balls. That was another huge point to the team. If there was a ball we had an equal chance, we have to come up with it today. So, I thought Sabrina was really good today. I thought that run was absolutely fueled by our defense and I told them that in the timeout. So that was an outstanding part of the game because we were sort of trading baskets with them and to be able to get a little bit of separation and fend off what was a run by Mississippi State was huge for us.”
 
On the offense playing at different speeds…
“Well you know, we thought in the game where we had a chance was in the open court and up tempo. What Mississippi State does as well as anybody, what we tried to do when we are healthy and energetic and at our best – you know try to disrupt what the other team is trying to run and Mississippi State does a great job at that. So, in this game we felt like we needed to stay in the open court, and we needed to be aggressive and we needed to try to spread the floor so this was a little bit of a different game, it was a different style that we had to play and I was really proud of the team for being able to do that. We won some games 52, 50 and running our stuff and trying to get good shots. We do have a bit of versatility there, today they did exactly what they needed to win this game.”
 
On how KeKe McKinney helped the team…
“Yeah, I thought her attitude today and her presence and her leadership, talking to her team and keeping us together and staying overwhelmingly positive and directing traffic on defense – it was really important.  They are so explosive with their dribble-drive offense and hard to guard and if you can’t put a four player on the court that can switch some screens and level off some drives and it was points that she prevented that will never show up in the stat sheet but her presence on the floor today was invaluable, we couldn’t have won without her and again it’s another game if we don’t have everybody come together and contribute what their part is, we can’t win a game like this. So, KeKe was a great example for everybody and just doing what was necessary to win and doing her part.”
 
On Chasity Patterson and how she comes off the screen …
“Well when she is in rhythm she is awfully good in the ball screen, so we just tried to get her in the middle of the floor but the thing about her is she can handle the ball with both hands and she has a great change of pace and that’s hard to guard. So, she can hesitate and drive you for a layup, she can get behind the screen and shoot behind the screen. She can come tight off the screen and pop up into what we call the ‘power jumper’ two feet in the paint. She is tremendously gifted and talented in the on-ball screen action, which was important today with limiting our passes because we didn’t need to be passing the ball around a lot. Because they are so good, I mean you saw it. We only turned it over 15 times, but they usually get you turn it over 23 times a game. So, it was a great performance by us. The times we were a bit lackadaisical with our passes they were feasting on that. So, to be able to put the ball in her hands and really secure the ball or know that you are going to get some type of shot.  We did not let their defense get into rhythm and really put on one of those runs that they have been doing in the conference. They have been playing with people and then they will just have one of those runs that defensively they are so aggressive and deflates you on offense. So, Chasity was important in getting us get into a rhythm into the game.”
 
On Rhyne playing with her hand wrapped …
“Well the shooting is not the difficulty, because you are trying to keep your left hand straight and rigid basically and shooting it with only your right hand so that’s really not the difficulty on her jumper or three. It’s basically the dribbling so now that hand is very immobilized, but she made some great plays today she made some shots with her left hand around the basket. She will definitely be better once we get that off, but she was awfully good with one hand today.”
 
On what gets him excited about the team …
“Well this a big win for us and a big lift for us. Last Sunday we got whipped every way you can and the Sunday before that we lost one that we felt like we shouldn’t have lost and so I think now we are down to our last four-game mini season down the stretch. I think this is going to give us a boost and we have to focus in here and keep plugging. It’s got to give us some confidence going forward at this time of the season. It’s a long season. It’s a grind in this conference you know every little shot of energy or confidence that you can get is meaningful so just excited to play Thursday. It’s going to be a really important and all of them are important now. We are going to see if we can get a win on Thursday and real proud of this one today”.
 
#10, Rhyne Howard, So., G
On how your hand is healing and playing with the bandage…
“I’m starting to get a bit more comfortable out there with it. I practice with it, so I pretty much know what I can and cannot do now.”
 
On what or who do you attribute scoring 20+ points in each of the last two games…
“I think I was just pumped to be back and just being able to play with my teammates again. We knew these were going to be big games and I couldn’t just come back and think, ‘Oh my hands broke, its time to take time off.’ I just have to push through it.”
 
On playing with Chasity Patterson…
“It takes a lot of focus off of me, and she can get to the basket, and she can shoot and do it all. Most of the time I just want her to go out there and play her game. I’m looking for to be aggressive at all time.”
 
#15, Chasity Patterson, Jr., G
On what coach said in the first timeout after a Mississippi State 6-0 run…
“He was just saying, ‘Keep attacking them and keep playing defense.’ He was mainly focusing on defense. It was at one point in time where they had gotten a lot of rebounds and put backs so he was just saying keep attacking them and that’s what we did.”
 
On being aggressive…
“Definitely being this small you just have to have that mentality coming in, especially playing in the SEC. I’m probably the smallest guard in the league, so just being aggressive is something that’s a given. You have to come out and compete and be aggressive. That’s what coach always tells me, ‘Nobody can stay in front of you, just attack them because of your speed and you can get to the goal whenever you can.’ So, I’m just trying and use that to my advantage.”
 
On cheering for your teammates and them cheering for you…
“This week of practice I just felt like the team, we were all together and energetic coming into practice and that just fed off into the game. Just encouraging each other. We need to get that momentum and we have to celebrate and bring all that momentum together. It just gets everyone going, so I was excited for the team and us moving forward.”
 
Mississippi State Head Coach Vic Schaefer
Opening statement…
“Congratulations to Kentucky. I just thought they were sensational today. I thought they out toughed us, were more physical and more aggressive. That is kind of what we built our program on at Mississippi State over the years, is a tough, physical, aggressive basketball team. That doesn’t say anything about your skill set. That doesn’t say anything about your jump shot. I think if you ask a baseball coach, or a football coach, or any coach, if your team was described as a tough, physical, aggressive team you would probably like that. That is really what we have hung our hat on at Mississippi State over the years and what we have developed. I just felt like Kentucky was tremendous today. They just out toughed us. That is something that we have addressed with our team for a while now. We are a work in progress, we’re so young. My responsibility, without a doubt. The buck stops here. We obviously didn’t play well. And that, again, is my responsibility to have them ready to play. I will make sure we do better with that. We started the game off 6-0, which we haven’t done in a month of Sundays. They finished the half on a 19-3 run on the first quarter. Whatever he said in that timeout worked a whole lot better than mine. It’s kids responding, you just really have to tip your hat to them. How tough they were today and their competitive spirit, that’s college athletics. Our telling tale for us at Mississippi State is usually how many steals we had. We average ten steals a game, and we had two tonight. That is how hard we didn’t play. Again, not taking anything away from Kentucky. I had it written down at half time, in my notes, and written down after the game, the first thing is playing hard. When you’re having to coach kids hearts instead of coaching their minds, it sometimes can be a challenge. We are just so young, we are teaching kids being at practice on time, being at breakfast on time. Going to study hall, you gotta take books. You might want to have something to write with. We are coaching so many young people on other things besides “Xs and Os,” and in my mind that carries over into games and into being on a team. We are going to learn from it. To be where we are at, 22-4, with this young group, I have been proud of them all year. I am disappointed today. Again, ran into a really good team and a good crowd. Sometimes that happens. We have been able to answer. We answered in the first half, it was 35-32 at the half. We have been able to answer that most every night. Tonight, we just couldn’t quite get over the hump. I will be anxious to see us play on Thursday. I don’t know where we play, but we play somebody in the league. We have already had our two bigs. We will be somewhere, playing somebody. I am always anxious to see this group respond. We are working on leadership, and there is pain in leadership. It is hard. The only thing harder than being a young point guard, is being a young point guard on a young team, and that is what she is having to do. It is a real challenge. We will get better and we will learn from it. Myah Taylor had to be in here during the good times. Myah in here tonight as a point guard, to be accountable on a not so good night. That is just the way it is. That is just the kinda kid she is. That is just the way we are. Again, my job is to get them ready and to get them better.”
 
On Chasity Patterson changing the game…
“She really gives them a different dimension. She is another player that can create her own shot. So now you got Rhyne Howard, and her. That makes it really difficult, unless you got two defenders. Two people on the wing, or on your team that can defend on the perimeter. We really struggled tonight with that second defender. I put Jayla Hemingway on Rhyne Howard, and she did a great job on her. My freshman, who hadn’t played a whole lot this year, until Texas A&M last Sunday and now today. Again, that is what is the beauty of college athletics. The kid just keeps working, and she has earned herself some quality minutes. It really makes any team in the Southeastern Conference – you win with guard play. You win championships with guard play and size. You have no chance if you don’t have guard play. Our guards got beat today. We got beat in the guard position today. And again, I give Kentucky’s guards credit.”
 
On what swung momentum in the third quarter …
“I think we were just throwing it to the other team. We made some really poor decisions with the basketball. We had 17 turnovers today. That’s bad. And that was one of the keys. When you’re on the road, you can’t give the other team extra possessions. That’s 34 points you don’t even have a chance to score. And it was everybody. We made some really poor decisions with the ball and they turned it into fast break points. That, and the fact that we were undisciplined getting on somebody’s right hand. I mean, it ain’t rocket science. But that was our day today. We really struggled mentally with the scouting report.”
 
On if Kentucky did anything that surprised him …
“Just to be clear, I’m accountable. I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t get them ready to play. I think our staff did a great job in preparing the scouting report but at the end of the day, my job is to make sure they’re ready to go. It’s my job. And we just, after that 6-0 run, we just really got out-toughed I thought. And again, you’ve got to give Kentucky a lot of credit for that. They were just tougher than us today, which has been an issue for us all year. It’s something we talk about. But again, you’ve got to honor the game and you’ve got to respect the game. And when you don’t, the game will get you. And the game got us today.”
 
On why points in the paint weren’t more on their side the entire game …
“I guess because we were throwing the ball to them. It wasn’t like we weren’t trying. Part of that undisciplined we’re talking about on offense is that we really forced a lot of shots in dribble drive that we shouldn’t be taking. We just took a lot of jumpers, 10, 12, 15 footers that were heavily contested. That’s not what our offense is supposed to create for us. But our inability to have any discipline and be patient. I mean, we very rarely get to a shot clock violation. And I’d like to see us get to one every now and then. It would just show some patience. I just thought we weren’t aggressive in our first and second attack. You’re supposed to try to get as deep as you can and I just didn’t see that in us attacking on offense. I don’t know, maybe because we’re young, I have no idea, maybe we’re tired. We just came off of a week prep. We took two days off this week. Come sit in my chair, that concerns me. I gave them two days off this week and I’m writing down playing hard. That’s not good. Maybe we don’t need to take two more days off, we need to just stay after practice. We’ve got to be real aggressive. Who we’ve been all year is the aggressor, the attacker, attack is always on our board and we just didn’t attack today, I didn’t think. But again, the buck stops here.”
 
On where MSU stands in the SEC race …
“Is that where we are? I don’t have an idea. I’m just trying to win one game at a time. So we’re two games behind now? We have two losses. For us, my vision for them is, let’s get better tomorrow and let’s win on Thursday. And like I said, I don’t even really know who we play on Thursday, to be honest with you. And I don’t know who we have on Sunday, either. But I do know we’re going to play because I’ve already had my two byes. My focus with this team has been, let’s get better tomorrow and whoever is next on the schedule, we’ve got to get prepared and get ready to play. And if we’re two games behind them (South Carolina), chances are they’re not going to lose two. So now, OK, what are we playing for. Are we playing for seedings in the SEC Tournament? Well, let’s see if that matters to us. And that’s where I am with our team. OK, it’s in front of us. If whoever is behind us is close or nipping at our heels or whatever, do we want to create space, are we going to let that be a race? It’s really up to us. I’m just really more concerned with getting better, let’s win the next one, let’s get ready for the next one because we have 16 rival games in the Southeastern Conference. And just like tonight, if you don’t play well, you gonna get beat. You can get embarrassed. And I don’t know that we got embarrassed tonight but it can happen. So we’ve got to get ready, get focused and again, you’ve got to honor the game. You’ve got to honor the game. Preparation, spend time in the gym. If  you don’t honor the game, the game will get you.”
 
#1 Myah Taylor, So., Guard
On how she feels when she hears Coach Schaeffer being disappointed in the team …
“As a coach, he expects so much out of us. We started the game off really good, but we didn’t answer like we usually do. They went on some runs and it was hard for us to get stops. He expects so much out of us and we didn’t perform that way tonight. And we’ll take it and we’ll get better in practice and just try to get better and fix what was broken. But, just trust in the coach what he says and just work on it and work extra hard to get better. I feel like, as a team, we’re disappointed as well. We just have to build on it and get better in practice, just have to work on who we have next.”
 
On if Kentucky did anything that surprised her …
“No, the coaches did a wonderful job with the scout. We knew everything they were going to do. We just weren’t disciplined enough to execute it and get on the right hand and things like that. We knew all of these things going into the game. The coaches did a great job with the scouting report and everything they did, who does what, who can’t do what. We knew, we just weren’t disciplined enough. And we need to be better at that.”