UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
#20 KENTUCKY VS. LA SALLE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
Kentucky Head Coach Kyra Elzy
On rebounding effort …
“It was a great learning opportunity. I thought that La Salle beat us to some 50-50 balls and they were shooting 3s, so there were long rebounds. Our guards have to step in and help us rebound. We closed the rebounding gap in the fourth quarter, but overall, in order for us to be our best team, we have to rebound the ball better.”
On improvement from the Indiana game …
“I thought we took a step forward defensively tonight. There was a time in the game where we forced back-to-back shot clock violations and got our hands on some balls. We had some great help. Obviously, we can continue to grow but I thought we have taken a step forward from the last couple of weeks defensively.”
On Dre’una Edwards’ performance …
“The offseason set the tone for her. Her fitness is elite. She can play longer as you can see, played 36 minutes. She was productive in those. She had 22 points tonight and 11 rebounds. I thought that she was efficient offensively. Some of the bunnies offensively around the rim that she missed last year due to fatigue, she is starting to hit those. Then she just makes us different in transition offense. When she can get it off the glass and lead the break, she is a great passer. She is a mismatch in transition.”
On Treasure Hunt not playing in the second half …
“Our medical team will examine her and it will be day-to-day.”
On the players holding themselves accountable …
“That is one of our power fives is accountability. We want to hold them accountable, them holding us accountable and holding themselves accountable. This team wants to win. They own up to their mistakes. They want to make sure they are all doing the right things to move this team forward.”
On Jada Walker off the bench …
“An energizer bunny. She plays really hard on both sides of the court. One thing I love about her is that she is a freshman and still trying to learn. She is a student of the game and comes in and watches film. She is coachable. She is still trying to learn the intricate details of our offense and still scoring. Imagine when she understands what is going on, she is going to be real dangerous. She is a blessed kid to have and I am glad she is a Wildcat.”
On West Virginia …
“One, we talked about it: rebounding. We are going to have to do a better job and second our halfcourt executing. We need to slow down. We became a little stagnant at times. We need to move the ball and make sure we are not just getting good shots but great shots. Scoring in the halfcourt, we will continue to work on that.”
Kentucky Student-Athletes
#10, Rhyne Howard, Senior, Guard
On if/how the loss against Indiana is being used as motivation for the next game against a ranked opponent…
“I know you said we use that as motivation, but we don’t remember the Indiana game anymore. It’s in the past. We’re obviously here to play Kentucky basketball so we can’t get that low again, we can’t be that unfocused again. But, I mean, that’s not where our motivation is coming from.”
On Jada Walker’s success since the Indiana game…
“I think it’s because she’s not scared of anything.”
On how important it is to get a good turnout in Memorial for a matchup against a ranked opponent on Wednesday against West Virginia…
“I think having a good crowd is very important because often when we’re not playing good or not doing something that we need to be doing, the crowd is always cheering for us no matter what. They’re getting at the refs, doing everything that we’re doing, like ‘Yeah, go Cats!’, so we feed off them.”
#44, Dre’una Edwards, Senior, Forward
On how her playing, getting a double-double, and playing a lot of minutes tonight reflects the work she put in during the offseason…
“I’ve just put in a lot of work in the offseason with the help of (Kyra) Elzy, my teammates and Coach Lee. They’ve all been pushing me, so I was prepared.”
On what the team needs to focus on going into the West Virginia game…
“Yeah, boxing out for sure. But, I think we did really good on defense today. We’ve been honing in on that a lot this past week. You know, we’ve got to be more intense on the defensive end and I think that’s definitely helped us out a lot, and I think we’re going to be prepared for West Virginia.”
On if/how the loss against Indiana is being used as motivation for the next game against a ranked opponent…
“Most definitely what she (Howard) said. We’re not looking at them anymore. It is what it is, it happened, but we just got to keep doing what we do and play Kentucky basketball, focus on ourselves and that’s going to get us the dub every time.”
#1, Robyn Benton, Senior, Guard
On how Coach Elzy thinks she has found her niche in the offense…
“Well, I am more comfortable. I will say that. I thank my teammates for looking at me and passing me the ball so I can score.
On Jada Walker’s success since the Indiana game…
“Jada is fast. She doesn’t take any plays off, she goes really fast. I call her speedy Gonzales. I’m telling you, it’s go, go, go with Jada (Walker).
On how the half-court offense is doing…
“Our half-court offense, you know, we run a lot of four out, just a lot of movement and we just try to hit the open man or get the ball to the person.”
