Dec. 21, 2015
Postgame Quotes
Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb
On going into the holiday break with a win:
“It is difficult at Vanderbilt; they studied all week and went to their finals. We kept practicing and then you lose the practice (players). So our theme today was we’re just hungry. We’re hungry to play somebody else other than ourselves. I’m proud of how we stuck together. I think this is a really big win for us. On paper, it’s not perfect. But if you want to be a good team and keep growing this was a really good game for us.”
On keeping Tennessee-Martin at bay in the second half:
“I just have a great deal of respect for their coach (Kevin McMillan) and their program and how they do things. We’ve not only just played them since I’ve been here but we’ve also scrimmaged them because of that respect that they always make us better. This game makes us better. They are very well coached. I didn’t want to be in an end-situation with him and him running some great play to beat us. And we were almost in that situation. You learn from games like this. This was a tough matchup for us. We don’t matchup with it. They play five out. Do you play the big kids? I have kids that can score but couldn’t defend (their personnel). I have kids that can defend them but couldn’t score. So it became very difficult. On top of that, both (of Vanderbilt’s) point guards foul out. Kristin Gaffney, I just made her point guard two practices ago just in case. Good thing we did that because she ended up being the point guard for us tonight.”
On Kristen Gaffney’s play:
“Kristen is a very smart basketball player. Her basketball IQ is one of the best on the team. She is strong with the ball. This year we’re trying to play size at the point and not speed. It has really helped us. We haven’t turned the ball over as much. We have been able to get into our offenses and execute better. I think Gaff handles herself very well. She doesn’t get very emotional. She has always been a steady face for us, no matter where she’s at – and a very good passer. She reads the game very well.”
How does Tennessee-Martin’s defensive play compare to SEC teams?
“Totally opposite. We played Wisconsin-Green Bay, Dayton, Drexel and UT-Martin. All four of those teams are very well-coached. They are first-round NCAA games. You’re going to have to play teams, plays – they are not going to beat you individually. We play these teams because we think those teams make us better, make us smarter, make us work harder. When we went to Drexel they said nobody in a BCS conference ever comes to Drexel. This is one of the first times a BCS team has come here. Well, she is a great coach that has done a great job and they’re always in the NCAAs. Nobody wants to (play at Drexel) and take that risk. I just think it makes us a better team. I think we need that going into SEC play. No, it’s nothing like we’re going to play but it makes us better. It is a great challenge.”
Senior Forward Rayte’a Long
On coming out of halftime and never relinquishing the lead the rest of the game:
“I think the biggest thing, coming into the first half we didn’t have the same defensive intensity as we did in the second half. I thought we banded together a lot more and stuck to our principles and we stuck to our game plan a lot better, which was clearly very effective coming into the second half. We showed a lot of improvement in that area.”
On how valuable Kristen Gaffney’s play was down the stretch:
“Extremely valuable. We had two point guards foul out of the game. So, we definitely needed Gaffney to come in and be that person to help us end the game and she did that. She made a couple of great passes…She handled the role very well. Much respect.”
On Kristen Gaffney’s ability to handle the press late in the game:
“At that point, I think, they missed shots and they started getting back a little bit more. Because she was handling the pressure pretty well. We just weren’t moving the ball as effectively as we would like as a team. She got the ball up the court at a nice pace and kept the game going. She got us into our sets.”
On if UT Martin did anything that wasn’t planned for coming into the game:
“They did everything we expected. As I said, in the first half we weren’t executing as a team defensively. So, we just had to address that issue, change it and move forward. I thought we did an OK job.”
Is the amount of time off between this game and the next game good for this team?
“The holidays are always great to have a break. So, I think the break will make it such that when we come back we will be that much more hungry going into the next game then eventually SEC play. We go to New York so we are all excited about that trip coming up. So, coming back between practice, hop on the road, get to New York and practice some more going into our next game will be pretty solid. We will be ready to go.”
Sophomore Guard Christa Reed
On her mindset of hitting the key free throws down the stretch to seal the win:
“Well, the biggest thing is just to relax, and one of our team goals is to every game get 75 percent or higher. So, we practice free throws a lot in practice. The more we have done it in practice the easier it is to do it in a game.”
Was this a good team to play heading into the winter break?
“UT Martin is going to win a lot of games this year, and I feel like this was good competition coming off an 11-day break. We were just ready to play.”
On executing on the defensive end tonight:
“It’s really all about consistency and the time we had lapses were the times they got back into the game. So, that is something we need to work on as a team.”
On the team’s mentality night in and night out not knowing who is going to lead the team in scoring:
“I just feel like, having the mindset that it is about the team and our team is so deep that it could be anybody at any given night to have the most rebounds, the most points. Like, whoever needs to step up that’s who steps up.”
