Jan. 7, 2016
Recap | Box Score | Howell’s Photos 
Head Coach Melanie Balcomb
On the team’s resiliency in the 2nd half:
“I think it says a lot about them sticking to a game plan and not getting caught up in their momentum, their run. There was only one time in the game where I felt I needed to call time out and stop the bleeding , when we played at South Carolina the past couple of years, that wasn’t the case. I would have run out of time outs if I did it every time. We stuck to the game plan and made them do their weakness and they stepped up and hit big shots.
The fact it was 30-30 in the paint and we shot 4 for 20 from the three… it was three point shooting and who would have thought it? We’re supposed to be the best shooting team and that’s what we were trying to give them to keep it out of the war zone.”
On adjustments made early in the game:
“We’ve never played anybody that size yet in an SEC game and I think it’s a huge adjustment from the pre-season to play all that size. To be honest with you, in the beginning, you’re just in awe and you’re not ready. Once we settled down and realized, ‘Hey, we need to do this,’ and do what we’ve asked them to do I think they picked it right up.”
On facing Mitchell:
“She got in her zone. We were talking during our time outs that she was hot and she’s gonna keep trying to score, and she did. That’s why she’s a two-time SEC Player of the Year. That was difficult, and I feel we calmed her down and then Roy… Roy…”
“This is a team that I think could go back to the Final Four. I think right now for us, I think it will help a team that’s worked really hard and stuck to a game plan and continue to do that, I think the big thing is it shouldn’t matter who our competition is. South Carolina stepped up and made some shots and they’re very good.”
On if the team unraveled in the 4th:
“To be honest with you I don’t think we unraveled. There’s a huge difference between our game at Ole Miss. We melted down. It was bad, and I’m really proud at how we recovered from that a couple of days later. I think they stepped up their defense and picked it up to another level that they hadn’t been playing…We had 26 turnovers at Ole Miss and only had 13 tonight against a very, very good defensive team and we got great shots. I think we just lacked the confidence to lock down shots down in the stretch.”
On Dahlman’s start:
“She’s a great player, she’s gritty and she’s been defending and she’s been shooting the ball really well at practice. She’s been good since Christmas and got MVP up at Fordham… I wanted to start Rachel and Rebekah togetherâ€â€they score 80-something points a game and we needed to score more. With Rachel and Bekah out there at the same time, it gives us more fire power offensively.”
Sophomore Guard Rebekah Dahlman
On adjusting throughout the game:
“I think we did really well with their post players. I don’t think they scored very much.”
On moving forward:
“We just have to get back to work tomorrow, it’s a new day. I’m not saying we’re going to forget about this game, we’re going to learn from it and move on and get better. It was frustrating because we were right there. They hit some big shots down the stretch in the fourth quarter, and it hurt us.”
On improving game to game:
“Offense wise, they shot 10 for 22 on three-pointers, and we shot 4 for 20. We’re going to knock down some shots next game and from here on out.”
Junior Center Kendall Shaw
On her performance:
“My teammates had faith in me, and trusted me enough to give me the ball. I had to make sure they continued to trust me throughout the game.”
On improving game to game:
“I think we just need to continue to build our confidence in practice, and keep pushing each other every day. It’s just making us better every game.”
On confidence:
“I think it’s a building block for sure. I think when we stick to our game plan we could beat anybody any night if we executed it right.”
On having more blocks than the entire South Carolina team:
“I mean that’s always cool!”
South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley
Countering Vanderbilt’s runs:
“Well it takes that kind of effort to get a win in this gym. It’s always a barnburner when we play Vandy here. We came into the game knowing that it would take this kind of effort, so you know we got some great players that made great plays down the stretch; time and time again. It boiled down to our most experienced players making plays because they’d been in that experience before.”
On Tiffany Mitchell’s reliability:
“It’s great. She hasn’t been our conference player of the year in the last two years for nothing. It’s plays like that and situations like this in which she puts us on her back and carried us to victory.”
On Vanderbilt’s offense:
“Well you know Vandy shoots the ball very well, they’re extremely efficient and very calculated with the shots they want and who they want shooting them. You have to play minus outside the three-point line, and when you’re doing that you’re susceptible to drives, and they made us pay. We’d rather them two us, rather than three us. I like our chances with us having someone shoot shots inside the three, rather than outside the play.”
Point inconsistencies in league play:
“It’s the SEC, there isn’t any game you can take lightly. Did we think we would beat Arkansas the way we did, no, not at all. We take every SEC challenge, as it is, a challenge. Especially on the road, it’s hard to. It’s a little easier at home, because you’re in the comforts of your arena. On the road it’s a lot different. It’s a different setting with a different atmosphere, and usually SEC teams do a good job at taking care of home.”
