KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick and sophomore guard/forward Rennia Davis met with the media on Thursday, taking questions about Tennessee’s play in the 2018 Women’s Junkanoo Jam last week as well as the #11/11 Lady Vols’ upcoming game on Sunday at #NR/RV Oklahoma State.
UT (5-0) defeated Clemson and UAB in Bimini, Bahamas, last Thursday and Saturday, respectively, to claim the Junkanoo Division title in the tournament played at Gateway Christian Academy. Davis was named the tourney’s MVP and joined senior teammate Meme Jackson on the all-tournament team.
The Lady Vols play their third consecutive contest away from Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday, as they face Oklahoma State (5-0) as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The visit, which is Tennessee’s first-ever to Stillwater and Gallagher-Iba Arena, will feature a game tipping off at 3 p.m. CT (4 ET) and televised on FS1. UT is 2-0 all-time vs. the Cowgirls, including a 69-60 triumph at the Cancun Challenge on Nov. 24, 2017. OSU plays one more time before Sunday’s match-up, hosting Texas State on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.
Head Coach Holly Warlick
On Meme Jackson’s play thus far this season:
“She’s been one of our most consistent (players), and that correlates to how she’s been practicing. She has not had a bad day of practice. She’s focused and making sure that she leads the basketball team, and she’s worked at her game, probably more this summer than ever before, and I think you are seeing the results of all of that.”
On the improvement and overall performance of Kasiyahna Kushkituah:
“She’s put in a lot of time. She has been able to work through some minutes that have maybe been difficult for her, but she just continues to grow up before our eyes every game, and in the Bahamas I thought she demanded the basketball, wanted the basketball, and I am really proud of her and the time she has put in. And again, I think you are seeing the result.”
On how Kasiyahna Kushkituah’s fitness has improved:
“Well yes, that was one of the main things, was her getting in shape, and Coach Taylor did a great job of toning her body, and Dean (Lockwood) has done a great job of getting her basketball skills better. But she had to make a commitment to do those things as well, so that has made a huge difference.”
On her takeaways from the games in the Bahamas:
“(It was a) tough environment to play, and that’s one of the reasons we went down there. We played against two solid teams. But this team, I keep saying it, is so resilient, and they just keep fighting no matter what the score is. They have a thing about them where they fight, and I love that in them. They never think they are out of the game, there’s never a panic, its always positive, so it’s really fun to be around them and really fun to see these kids battle.”
On if she is surprised by this resilience given the youth of the team:
“Well no, not from seeing from what they did this summer, how hard they worked, and seeing what they did this fall. Just the comradery we have, the tightness we have, I think that helps tremendously.”
On how the newcomers responded in the fourth quarter of the UAB game:
“The ones that were in were battling, and the ones who were on the sideline were engaged and into the game, so that’s all I can ask for. If you are in, you’re fighting, and if you are on the sideline you’re involved, watching the game, seeing what we need to do and we got all that from them.”
On Rennia Davis and how she seems to take over at times:
“She has my permission to take over any time she wants. She’s our go-to, and we seem to get her the ball moreso in the third and fourth quarter, and I’d like her to get a little more involved in the offense from the beginning. But I thought we distributed the ball really well, we are not totally reliant on her, but we need her to step up and make big plays.”
On her level of confidence when her team was down 12 in the fourth quarter against UAB:
“The feeling of the game, knowing these kids, and watching them battle in practice – they just had a sense of urgency on the defensive end, and I thought in the fourth quarter our defensive level rose, and they (UAB) were playing tired, and we weren’t playing tired, so I was confident. I really didn’t so much concentrate on the score, it was just us getting stops and moving the ball and getting great looks, and that’s what we ended up doing.”
On free throw shooting issues against UAB and Clemson:
“Against Clemson we missed a lot of free throws too. Had we made free throws in both those games, then those games were not close. But it is mental. They’re in the gym making shots; their mechanics are good, we just have to get the mental training a little bit better.”
On how she has helped teams prepare mentally for free throws in the past:
“You work on mental training. You get down, do your routine, and do the routine the same way every time. You don’t get to the line and think, ‘Man, I hope I make it. I don’t want to miss.’ You go to the line thinking, ‘I’ve done this 100 times, and I’ve made this shot.’ Those are the types of things that we’ve got to keep replaying over and over so when we get on the line it’s positive thinking and not doubt.”
On how she simulates game situations during practice:
“We go to the line and have to make two in a row. If you don’t, you run. You try to put pressure on them. You play game-like situations and put them in those situations too. Repetitive shooting, put them in game-like situations, and it’s going to click.”
On what she thinks the team needs to practice after the Thanksgiving tournament:
“I think late in the game our rebounding has gotten really solid. I’d like to see that throughout the whole game. I think our defense has stepped up in the third and fourth quarters. I’d like to see that throughout the whole game. We have to cut down on our turnovers and just be consistent. Again, make layups and free throws, don’t give your opponent second-chance points, and you’re going to have a great shot to win the game.”
On her impressions of Oklahoma State:
“They’re young, but they spread the floor, they have players that can shoot the three, have players that can penetrate, have big kids… they’re going to mx up what they do with us and play zone, play man, press us. It’s a tough place to play. They haven’t lost too many games at home, so it’s going to be a tough place for us to play.”
On what it was like guarding UAB:
“Four kids can shoot the three, and one kid inside just tightens up everything in the paint. (It was) very difficult. There aren’t too many teams who can shoot the ball and move the way UAB did, which was very challenging for us. We knew it was going to be challenging. You don’t see too many teams like that. (They’re) very well coached and shoot the ball extremely well. We played man, and you have to guard your player one-on-one. That was the importance of the game. You need to guard your player one-on-one, and we don’t need to help, because the minute we help, they’re going to find a seam, hit to the three-point shooter, and score. Down the stretch, we wore them out and they got tired. We were still in pretty good condition, and they got tired, so their shots started coming up short, missing some layups and free throws.”
On if there is a part of the team she thinks is stronger than she thought it would be at this point in the season:
“Probably our offensive efficiency; we haven’t really taken bad shots. We’ve missed a lot of shots in the paint, but I think, for the most, part we’ve gotten good looks, and I think they understand what’s a great shot and what’s a good shot.”
On Rennia Davis not hunting her shot:
“Rennia likes to sometimes sit and watch the game or get a feel for the game. We’ve got to do a better job of bringing her the ball as well.”
On if Rennia Davis prides herself on being the closer type:
“Whether she likes it or not, she is. I think so. I think she wants the ball in her hands, and I want the ball in her hands (because) great things happen.”
On if Davis has to be more assertive this year with her leadership skills:
“I think every game she is coming into her role a little more and understand what she needs to do. I think every game she’ll learn what she needs to do for this basketball team. It’s a lot for her to carry, but she’s built for that, so I’m not going to put anything on her that she can’t handle.”
Sophomore Guard/Forward Rennia Davis
On how close-knit the team is:
“I definitely have seen it. We had a few tough games in the Bahamas, but just coming together and ultimately getting the win, I think that says a lot about our team.”
On if she liked the way the team played in the Bahamas:
“I always think we can play better, but just the fact that we came out 2-0 (at the Junkanoo Jam), that was enough for me.”
On what she learned about the group in the two games:
“What I took from those games is just that our team has a will to win. There were a couple times in that second game that we could’ve just given up. I think we were down 12 in the fourth quarter. But for us to just stick together and come back and ultimately get the win, I think that says a lot about us and our character and about how much we want to win.”
On what was going through her mind when they down 12 in the fourth quarter:
“Just keep playing. This team is so competitive, so we just wanted to get the win however we could. Everybody stepped up in their own way and took some big shots for us.”
On if anything was said during the huddle about finishing the game:
“I think it was just more of a mental thing for us. Everybody just knows that we can’t lose, but I give credit to UAB because they were a pretty good team. Just for us, we knew we couldn’t lose that game.”
On what she liked and what could be improved from the last two games:
“I think we just need to play together. It is a big thing for us. We need to continue to improve our turnover-to-assist ratio. There were times that we had turnovers that were unforced, so I think we can clean that up, and just stay consistent overall as a team.”
On what they are learning about themselves as a team:
“We are still learning how to play with whoever because this is a young team. A lot of our freshmen are coming from being the best player on their high school’s team. So just coming here and filling in your role and understanding what this team needs from you, we are still working on that, but it is coming together.”
On what changed in the fourth quarter:
“Just the competitive nature of this team. Like I said, we all hate to lose. And there are a lot of teams that can say that, but I think with this team, we actually mean that. Losing is just not an option for us. So I think whatever we needed to do to win that game, we did that.”
On if there was an area that the team has been better at than expected:
“I think we have been pretty efficient in our transition. Just letting our defense lead into our offense, getting some turnovers on our press and turning the other team over. I think we are very efficient in that area.”
On if playing a different defense on UAB was a good experience:
“I definitely agree with that. It was very hard to press them as a team because of how they were set up. I think it did help us because we got to see how different teams might play. We aren’t able to press against every team, so being able to play half-court defense efficiently and staying in front of our person, I think that helped us out a lot.”
On if she felt any panic when they were down:
“Not from the players. We are just so competitive that we knew somebody was going to do something for us to win the game.”
On how she felt the freshmen reacted to the adversity:
“I think they did really well. In both games, we had freshmen in at the end of the game. That also says a lot about our team. We are young, but being able to have freshmen in those games, I think they were all ready for those moments.”
On if she felt like she had to be assertive on both sides of the floor against UAB:
“I hear it all the time from my teammates and coaches, but I’m just prepared to let the game come to me. And at that time (in the fourth quarter), the three-point shot was falling for me, so I just continued to shoot it. My teammates and coaches were all confident in me shooting the ball, so that is what I did.”
On if her teammates let her know they need her at those times in the game:
“We have players on this team that can score the ball, but the coaches want me to be as aggressive as possible, especially in times like that. But credit to the rest of my teammates, I think we all stepped up and made big shots in that game.”
On the team’s free throws:
“It is something that can be fixed. It just seems to be mental right now, like we aren’t as focused as we should be. When somebody steps up to the free throw line, you don’t really know what’s going on in their head, but it is definitely something we are working on. We are shooting more free throws as a team and individually, so hopefully it improves.”
On how Kasi Kushkituah stepped up:
“Coach Reaves said (Kasi) grew up in the first game, and I definitely agree. Just having that physical dominance down low, I think that is going to get us open. We can get the ball inside to Kushkituah; she gets fouled and gets free throws, she gets and ones. I don’t think anybody can really guard her because she is so strong and physically dominant that she is going to be really big for us this year.”
On the changes in Kushkituah compared to last year:
“I think (Kasi) has gotten a lot more in shape. The minutes she has been playing now, she would not be able to play last year because she wasn’t physically or mentally ready for that. This year, she feels like we need her, which we do. She has gone in the gym and put in extra work.”
On how the fourth quarter play will help them down the road:
“It is just going to continue to grow mental toughness, which we need down the road.”
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