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No. 9/8 Kentucky – 61, No. 6/7 Tennessee – 60
Quotes
UK Head Coach Mathew Mitchell
Opening Statement…
“That
was a great college basketball game. Two really tough teams went at it
tonight and played hard. We have so much respect for Tennessee. They
played such a tough game. I couldn’t be prouder of our players. They
earned every bit of it. It went down to the last shot and we were able
to come out on top. I have a lot of respect for Tennessee. They are
very well coached, play hard, and I thought our players played
extremely hard. It’s a really proud night to be a Kentucky Wildcat.”
On the last few seconds of the game…
“Tennessee
did a great job. Our initial thought with 20-something seconds left was
to run a couple high on-balls for A’dia (Mathies) and they trapped that
and did a really good job so we called a timeout. To try and avoid
anything we just went 1-4-flat, we haven’t done that much – as in,
ever. We just couldn’t get a screen involved and A’dia had just taken
us so far and brought us to that point so I thought we should put the
ball in her hands to see what happens. She came through like the top
caliber player that she is. I’m really, really proud of her. So, just
1-4-flat and went to the basket and put it in.”
On whether A’dia Mathies ever surprises him anymore…
“No,
I was really, really happy that she played up to the level of the gifts
God’s given her. She played up to her talent level tonight. She bounced
back from a devastating run Tennessee put on us. We had complete
control of the game and that was a devastating run. For a team to have
the character to come back, even when it was not looking good, and win
was great. A’dia (Mathies) really, really played well.
On what a win such as this can do for the confidence level of the team…
“You
have to make certain that you understand what it is. It’s a win on a
Thursday night in the Southeastern Conference. Emotionally, you have to
understand it could’ve gone either way. It was not as it looked tonight
and wouldn’t have been as bad had we have lost by one. You really have
to keep it in perspective that it was a well-played, hard-fought game
on our home court and we came out with a one-point win. There’s nothing
for us to do but enjoy it tonight, but you really have to stay focused
here. If we lose tonight and win at South Carolina, we are 4-1 in the
conference, and if we win tonight and lose at South Carolina we are 4-1
in the conference. This is the grind of the SEC. It was an emotional
night, of course, it was a tough, tough game, but you have to keep it
in perspective here. We didn’t win anything here tonight except a
Thursday night game in the SEC.”
On their best start to an SEC season in the history of UK women’s basketball…
“I’m
very proud. I’m extremely proud of our players tonight. They played
their tails off. They could not have played any harder, or with any
greater effort, or with any greater resolve, or with any greater
character to bounce back from disappointment tonight. I am extremely
proud.”
On what he and Mickie DeMoss envisioned prior to tonight…
“I
told her before the game, tonight would not have happened without her.
She started it all, every ounce of it. You folks that have been
covering it for a while know it was tough when we showed up. She taught
me how to be a head coach and Mickie DeMoss had a big hand in building
this program and I told her that before the game. So yes, tonight is
what we envisioned. Kentucky – great fans, great crowd – playing
against Tennessee and coming out on top. It was a great night.”
On the fearless play of A’dia Mathies…
“She
has been very good in those situations and that’s why recruiting is so
important. That was not a real genius coaching move right there. That
was a great player making a big-time play. That’s the formula. That’s
how Tennessee has won so many games over the years – players making
great plays. We did a good day’s work when we signed A’dia Mathies. She
really is a great player.”
On the boost they received from Keyla Snowden…
“When
you win by one and anyone scores a bucket, you wouldn’t win that game
without the person. I asked them before they came out of the locker
room to come out swinging the first four minutes and then we would
reset it for the next four minutes. We just wanted to work our way
through the game like that. I thought she embodied the attitude we
wanted more than anybody. I thought she fought tonight and did exactly
what we asked her to. I am really, really proud of Keyla Snowden. She
has taken a lot of grief from her coach over the years and she has
stepped up big here in her final semester of her career. She was huge
in the game tonight.”
On what Kentucky contributed to Tennessee’s comeback…
“We
started missing shots. We got extremely tentative on offense. It’s
really hard to beat Tennessee. It’s just really hard to beat them.
There is that aura and that tradition and what they have earned I don’t
know how else you knock it down but just winning games. I thought we
got very tentative. Tennessee was fantastic in transition offense. We
were just maybe playing not to lose instead of to win, and then
Tennessee backed us against the wall like a great team does. They came
out with haymaker after haymaker. Those were some great plays they
made. It was a combination of some Tennessee players stepping up the
last couple of minutes and some bad looking offense there in the last
couple minutes.”
On his comments to Pat Summitt…
“I tell Pat
before every game that I wouldn’t be out here without what she did. I
tell her that every time. I told her that tonight. It’s true tonight
and will be true every time we meet before a game. I told her I loved
her and obviously thinking about her with what she’s going through. I
really appreciate our fans tonight. They did exactly what first class
people should do. They gave her a great ovation and that meant a lot to
me. I appreciated our fans doing that. It was a great atmosphere
tonight. I appreciate everyone buying tickets and filling the whole
place up. It was awesome tonight. It was rockin’.”
On whether he thought the moon and stars aligned for A’dia Mathies’ desperate 3-point shot…
“For
about two or three minutes then I thought they got out of whack again
when Tennessee started throwing in shots. That was a huge play in the
game. We have had plenty of them go against us so I was excited to get
one on our side.”
On the whether Kentucky is getting closer to the bar Tennessee has set…
“We
are getting closer but look at the series record. It is one-sided. We
have a lot of work to do to even up that series. We are getting closer
and that’s what we need to do. We need to work really hard and focus on
making Kentucky basketball as outstanding as this place deserves.”
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