UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
KENTUCKY VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
Kentucky Head Coach Kyra Elzy
On the game coming out in the Cats’ favor…
“We are very excited that it came out to our in our favor. I talked to the girls. They earned that one, no one gave it to them. They earned that one. We talked about getting to the free throw line. Hitting 80% or higher. We were at 90%. Taking care of the ball. We want to 12 or less, and we had eight turnovers. I thought the ball movement that we had for majority of the game, we capitalized on that. “
On Dre’una Edwards’ performance …
“Dre (Dre’una Edwards) made some big plays. I thought she settled in offensively. She missed some bunnies early, but she didn’t get down. She made some big 15-foot jumpers and settled in and finished in the paint, but I’m proud of the other end. She got some big rebounds and obviously to finish the game with a block shot so very proud of her. “
On Jada Walker’s growth during conference play …
“Well, that’s part of being a freshman. You’re going to have some highs and lows. The thing about Jada [Walker]: she’s learning on the job. She’s not sitting behind anyone learning. She is on the floor learning on the job. You can let her play through some of her mistakes because of how hard she plays and competes. Like tonight, she was so excited- her turnovers. She had really limited her turnovers. She’s able to get us in the offense quicker and understand how to get over ball screens, and that makes us a different team.”
On what the discussion was in the huddle during the last seven minutes …
“We just talked the fact that we’ve been here before- whether it’s in practice, whether it’s been in the tough games that we’ve lost- that now we’re going to step up. We need defensive stops. I thought they really took that to heart, and then we had to come down and execute offensively. So, we just talked about a score. A stop, a score, a stop. Those are things that we do in practice, and I’m thankful tonight that it carried over to the game.”
#44 Dre’una Edwards, Redshirt-Junior, Forward
On the final seven minutes of the game…
“We just leaned on each other and we pushed each other. We didn’t go out there like the game was over. We went out there and said this is our game and we’ve got to get the win.”
On the pressure defense used to defeat Mississippi State in the last seven minutes…
“You turn up on the defensive side, it gets the offense excited and ready to go.”
On the fans bringing the energy late in the game…
“It was just great to know that our fans are still with us. After everything we’ve been through this year, and they just added more fuel to the fire. We knew they were with us, so we had to go out there and get the win.”
On Edwards going 9-for-9 from the free-throw line …
“I just had to lock in and do what I had to do. My teammates and coaches were lifting me up and letting me know like, ‘you’ve got this.’ I just went out there and played my game.”
On the final 90 seconds of the game and how they focused in to grab the win …
“We just had to keep locking in, stay in place and tell each other that we’re right here. We just finished it out basically.”
On back-to-back SEC wins …
“It’s great to have any wins back-to-back. It’s not about the team that we were in December or January. It’s about the team we are in February and March. We’re back at it and we’re ready to work.”
On the difference between the team now and what it was before…
“I mean, I just feel like we got nothing to lose. So, we just go out there and we fight. We’re dogs now, it’s way different. It’s just a better mentality overall.”
#10 Rhyne Howard, Senior, Guard
On the final seven minutes of the game …
“We knew we were playing around and we were like alright let’s lock in, we were not losing this game. So, we decided to go out there and turn it up.”
On the pressure defense used to defeat Mississippi State in the last seven minutes…
“It was just too easy for us, they could not handle it. Their turnovers on our side of the floor we’re big, we just had to get it and score. We had to do it over and over for them in the last seconds.”
On how she played in the second and third quarter, compared to the first and third …
“I was taking shots and it just wasn’t going in during the second and third quarter. I’m just have to continue to do the little things. I get rebounds and hustle plays create more looks for my teammates because I’m not going to keep forcing shots up, especially if somebody else is open. I’m get the board, just trying to hit Dre because you know she’s going to score.”
#11 Jada Walker, Freshman, Guard
On the final seven minutes of the game …
“We’ve been through these games, so we decided to get locked in and win.”
On how Jada Walker has evolved over the course of SEC play…
“It’s just making adjustments, not getting too deep, not getting too many turnovers and growing for me to gain.”
