ATLANTA – Tennessee’s Grant Williams earned more recognition for his impressive season Wednesday, being named a 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year Semifinalist by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
Williams, who was on the preseason watch list and the midseason team, was one of 10 players across the country selected as a potential recipient of the honor. He ranks in the top 10 of the SEC in scoring (1st), field-goal percentage (2nd), free-throw percentage (3rd), rebounding (5th) and assist/turnover ratio (9th).
Williams, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, has been one of the nation’s most all-around players this year, averaging 19.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. The Charlotte, N.C., native is also shooting 57 percent from the field and an impressive 83 percent from the charity stripe.
So far this year, the junior forward was been tabbed to the John R. Wooden Award Men’s Late Season Top 20 Watch List, the 2018-19 Oscar Robertson Trophy Final Midseason Watch List and was selected as a Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year finalist.
Williams is joined by Kentucky’s P.J. Washington as the only SEC players to make the team.
A list of the four finalists March 19, 2019. The 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy will be awarded on at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 7, 2019, during the Final Four in Minneapolis.
The Naismith Trophy is awarded annually to the women’s and men’s college basketball players of the year. First awarded in 1969 to UCLA’s Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Naismith Trophy has become one of the most prestigious national honors awarded each year to the top players in the nation.
Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the founder of the sport, Tennessee has never had a player win the award.
Little Big Town surprised Kelsea Ballerini with an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry.
After Kelsea performed her segment during the Opry’s showcase on March 5, Little Big Town took the stage to close out the show, inviting Kelsea onstage to help them perform “Girl Crush.” As LBT was concluding the song, the group changed the lyrics to “Kelsea Ballerini, do you wanna join the Opry?”
A stunned Kelsea exclaimed, “Yes, I’m gonna pass out I think.” After collecting her thoughts, Kelsea added, “To be on this stage is the greatest gift in the world. This is the home of country music, and I get to be a part of it.”
“For the rest of your life,” added LBT’s Karen Fairchild.
Kelsea’s formal Opry induction is set for Tuesday, April 16. Kelsea, 25, will be the Opry’s youngest member, a title currently held by 32-year-old Chris Janson.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 5 Tennessee used a fast second-half start to power past Mississippi State on Senior Night at Thompson-Boling Arena, 71-54.
Heading into its final game of the regular season Saturday at Auburn, Tennessee remains in a tie atop the Southeastern Conference standings.
Leading by six points at halftime, Tennessee (27-3, 15-2 SEC) used a 17-4 run to open the second half and create a comfortable, 19-point lead, capped by a Jalen Johnson 3-pointer from the left wing. The Bulldogs (21-9, 9-8) never drew closer than 14 points after the Vols’ initial second-half burst, and Tennessee’s lead expanded to as many as 24 points.
Mississippi State’s 54-point total was its lowest scoring output of the season, and the Bulldogs’ 33 percent shooting performance was their second-lowest of the season.
For the Vols, the win capped off a perfect 18-0 home campaign for during 2018-19 season.
Playing in his final home game, senior Admiral Schofield led all scorers with 18 points. Grant Williams had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Jordan Bowden had 12 to round out Tennessee’s double-figure scorers. Senior Kyle Alexander grabbed 10 rebounds, scored six points and blocked four shots in his final performance on Rocky Top.
Tennessee’s defensive effort of holding Mississippi State to just 54 points — coupled with limiting Kentucky to 52 on Saturday — marks the first time that the Vols have won back-to-back SEC games while holding the opponent to less than 60 points since the 2013-14 season.
Tennessee also recorded a season-high in steals, registering 12 takeaways in the win.
At halftime, the Vols led, 31-25, thanks to a Lamonte Turner layup at the buzzer. Schofield led all scorers with 11 points at the break, while Alexander grabbed seven rebounds in the opening frame.
Tennessee led by as many as nine points in the first half, taking a 24-15 lead on the heels of a 10-0 run – capped by an Alexander dunk on a cross-court bounce pass from Jordan Bone.
Vols Surpass Last Season’s Win Total: The win over Mississippi State is Tennessee’s 27th of the season, surpassing last season’s year-end total. Last season, 23 of Tennessee’s 26 wins came in the regular season.
Additionally, the Vols reached 15 regular-season SEC wins for just the third time ever. Tennessee went 15-3 during the 1966-67 season and 16-2 in league play during the 1976-77 campaign.
Vols Continue Defensive Stand Versus Bulldogs: Mississippi State has scored 54 points or less just three times since the start of SEC play last season – two of which have been against Tennessee. In addition to Tuesday’s 71-54 win, the Vols defeated the Bulldogs in Starkville last season, 76-54.
Williams Climbs Blocks List: With a two-block performance in Tennessee’s win over Mississippi State, junior Grant Williams claimed sole possession of fourth-place on Tennessee’s all-time blocked shot leader list, surpassing Doug Roth. Williams now has 148 blocks during his Tennessee career, just four behind third-place Wayne Chism.
Seniors Close Out Defense of Home Court: Seniors Kyle Alexander, Lucas Campbell, Admiral Schofield and Brad Woodson concluded their home careers in Thompson-Boling Arena with a win Tuesday, bringing the group’s final four-season home court record to 54-11 (.831).
Senior Night: Tennessee has now won three straight Senior Night games, including last season’s 66-61 win over Georgia that clinched a share of the SEC regular-season title.
Up Next: Tennessee closes out regular-season play this Saturday with a road contest against the Auburn Tigers. Tipoff is scheduled for noon ET on ESPN.
Tennessee men’s basketball seniors Kyle Alexander (F) and Admiral Schofield (F/G) spoke with the media in the postgame after Tennessee’s 71-54 win over the Mississippi State on Senior Night in Knoxville.
Vols F Kyle Alexander & F/G Admiral Schofield / Credit: WNML Staff
Tennessee men’s basketball senior walk-ons Brad Woodson and Lucas Campbell spoke with the media in the postgame after Tennessee’s 71-54 win over Mississippi State on Senior Night in Knoxville.
Tennessee men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes spoke with the media in the postgame after Tennessee’s 71-54 win over Mississippi State on Senior Night in Knoxville.
HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee is officially off to its best start in program history at 13-0 after a midweek rout of Troy on a cold Tuesday night in the third annual Hoover Classic at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
The 21st-ranked Volunteers busted open a close game with seven combined runs in the sixth and seventh innings and went on to win the game 11-2, finishing with a season-high 13 hits.
Five Vols posted multi-hit games, led by a 4-for-5 performance from junior shortstop Ricky Martinez. Jay Charleston and Andre Lipcius had two RBI apiece while Luc Lipcius had another huge day at the plate with two hits, two runs and three RBI.
Freshman catcher Connor Pavolony had a career night as well, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI double while junior leadoff man Justin Ammons extended his on-base streak to 13 games after getting two hits and scoring three runs.
Sean Hunley earned his third win in as many starts after giving up two runs on five hits in five innings. Four true freshmen – Camden Sewell, Chase Silseth, Tanner Kohlhepp and Elijah Pleasants – combined to throw four shutout innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit.
After a scoreless first inning, the Vols jumped on Trojans’ starter Sadler Goodwin for two runs on three hits in the top of the second.
Alerick Soularie led off the inning with a walk and scored from first on a double over the left fielder’s head by Pavolony one batter later. Martinez reached on a bunt single to put runners on the corners for Luc Lipcius, who delivered with an RBI single to put UT ahead 2-0.
The Trojans answered back immediately with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Austin Garofalo got Troy on the board with an RBI single before Manning Early drove in the tying run with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly two batters later.
Charleston reached on an error by the third baseman to lead off the fifth and made the Trojans pay for their mistake. The SEC leader in stolen bases promptly stole second and came around to score what turned out to be the game-winning run on an RBI groundout by Evan Russell later in the inning.
The Big Orange extended their lead with three runs in the top of the sixth, all with two outs. A bases-loaded walk by Charleston brought in the first run before a Texas leaguer by Andre Lipcius plated two more runs to put UT up 6-2.
Tennessee continued to pour it on in the seventh, putting up a four spot in the inning. Luc Lipcius just barely missed hitting his fourth home run of the season with a two-run triple off the top off the wall in right center. Jake Rucker brought home Lipcius with an RBI groundout and Charleston capped the scoring in the inning with an RBI double to left center to make it 10-2.
An RBI groundout by freshman Trey Lipscomb in the top of the ninth finished off the scoring on the night. It was the first-career RBI for Lipscomb.
NOTABLE VOLS 6-7-8 HITTERS SHINE IN WIN: The bottom half of UT’s lineup was almost unstoppable on Tuesday night. The 6-7-8 hitters of Connor Pavolony, Ricky Martinez and Luc Lipcius combined to go 8-for-11 with three doubles, a triple, six runs and four RBI in the win. Pavolony set new career highs with two hits and three runs while Martinez also set a career best with four hits.
ANOTHER SCORELESS OUTING FOR BULLPEN: Tennessee’s bullpen has been lights out this season and Tuesday was no exception. Four true freshmen relievers combined to throw four shutout innings, allowing just one hit and two walks. The bullpen has allowed only one run and 10 hits while striking out 55 in 54.0 innings of work this season.
UP NEXT: The Vols are back home this weekend to host Fresno State for three games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch for Game One is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday night. All three games will be streamed live online via SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 8 seed Tennessee (18-11, 7-9 SEC) will meet No. 9 seed LSU (16-12, 7-9 SEC) at noon on Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
Tip-off is slated for 12:02 p.m. ET at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C., for a contest that is being televised by the SEC Network and carried by the Lady Vol Radio Network and SiriusXM Radio. The winner of Thursday’s game will advance to face No. 1 seed Mississippi State (27-2, 15-1 SEC) at noon on Friday.
The Lady Vols closed out the regular season on Sunday with a dominant 81-56 victory at Ole Miss, moving from 10th to 8th in the SEC standings. After a tough six-game losing skid in January, which included four SEC losses by a combined total of nine points, Tennessee has won six of its last 10 games.
After a surge that saw it win four of five games in early February, LSU enters tourney play having lost its last three contests. The Lady Tigers are coming off a 56-46 home setback vs. Auburn on Sunday in which they were held to single digits in the second and third quarters.
Tennessee and LSU are meeting for the 65th time, with the Big Orange leading the series, 49-15. This will mark the 14th meeting between UT and LSU in the SEC Tournament. The Lady Vols own a 9-4 record in tourney play vs. the Lady Tigers.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Courtney Lyle (play-by-play), Tamika Catchings (analyst) and Steffi Sorensen (sideline) will have the call for the SEC Network.
Mickey Dearstone is behind the microphone for IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcasts for the 20th season. A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
The SEC Radio Network will broadcast all games during the tournament and can be heard on Sirius 138, XM 191 and Online 962.
UT-LSU SERIES NOTES
UT enters the 65th meeting in the series with a 49-15 edge, including a 22-3 record in Knoxville, 15-8 slate in Baton Rouge and a 12-4 mark at neutral sites.
Tennessee has won 12 of the last 16 games, but UT and LSU have split the past four.
Holly Warlick owns a 6-3 record against Nikki Fargas as a head coach. Fargas is the only former Lady Vol player to ever hand Warlick a loss as a head coach.
The Lady Vols are 1-1 vs. LSU in overtime games. The last time the two teams went to OT was on March 1, 1997. Tennessee won the game 100-99 to advance to the semifinals of the SEC tournament.
The last time these programs met in the SEC Tournament was on March 7, 2014, in Duluth, Ga. Then No. 6 Tennessee earned a 77-65 victory over the Lady Tigers in the quarterfinals and ended up winning the championship.
LADY VOL NOTES
RELIABLE RENNIA:Rennia Davis is a consistent scorer, hitting double figures a team-high 23 times, including the past 10 games. She’s also solid on the boards, leading the team in rebounds on 14 occasions (2nd on the team) and tallying a team-high eight double-doubles this season.
DISHIN’ & SWISHIN’:Evina Westbrook is tops in leading her team in scoring (12 times) and in assists (22 times). She has tallied five or more dimes in 18 games, including a total of nine in the win vs. Ole Miss on Sunday.
LONDON RISING: Cheridene Green has doubled her scoring and rebounding averages in all games from 4.1 and 3.7 last year to 9.2 ppg. and 7.6 rpg. this season. She’s been even better in SEC games, producing 10.3 ppg. and 8.8 rpg.
WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN: Tennessee has allowed only 61.0 ppg. in its seven SEC wins this season and is surrendering 77.7 ppg. in its league losses. UT is standing at +13.0 in rebounding and shooting .763 at the free throw line in conference victories while possessing a +4.4 board edge and a .673 free throw rate in SEC losses.
STRONG ON THE BOARDS: UT has won the rebounding battle in 24 of 29 games, including 14 of 16 SEC contests (MSU, VU).
SO MUCH BETTER AT THE LINE: UT has improved its free throw shooting so much this year, hitting at a .675 rate in the non-conference schedule and warming up to a .717 percentage in league play.
THREE-POINT BARRAGE: Tennessee hit eight threes vs. Ole Miss, its first game with six or more since Jan. 3 at Auburn. Meme Jackson was a big part of Sunday’s long-range success, knocking down five on six shots for her biggest game since that Jan. 3 Auburn contest. It ignited UT’s offense.
TENNESSEE IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT
Tennessee enters Thursday’s game with a 78-22 (.780) all-time record in the 40th year of the SEC Tournament.
UT is 34-5 all-time in its opening game of the SEC Tournament.
UT was a No. 7 seed a year ago and is playing as a No. 8 seed for the first time.
Tennessee is seeking to capture its league-leading 18th SEC championship trophy. UT was victorious in 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.
The Lady Vols were runners-up on six occasions, including 1982, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2003 and 2015.
UT has advanced to the title game in two of the past five seasons, winning in 2014 as a #2 seed, 71-70, over #4 Kentucky and falling as a #2 seed to #1 South Carolina, 62-46, in 2015.
The Big Orange women are 23-6 in SEC Tournament play since 2007-08.
Holly Warlick has forged a 9-5 record in SEC Tournament games as a head coach, including 1-1 in title games.
Tennessee has had 15 SEC Tournament MVPs through the years, with a Lady Vol winning four of the last eight awards.
Isabelle Harrison (2014), Glory Johnson (2012), Shekinna Stricklen (2011) and Alyssia Brewer (2010) were the past four MVPs from Tennessee.
Current assistant coach Bridgette Gordon was a two-time SEC All-Tournament selection (1988, 1989), claiming MVP honors in 1989.
UT head coach Holly Warlick was a senior point guard on the Lady Vol team that won the very first SEC Tournament title in 1980, defeating Ole Miss, 85-71, at Stokely Athletics Center in Knoxville.
PREVIOUS VISITS TO GREENVILLE
This marks the third time Greenville has played host to the SEC Tournament.
No. 2 seed Tennessee defeated #1 seed LSU in the tourney title game, 67-56, on March 6, 2005, the first time the event was held here.
Shyra Ely was named the SEC Tournament MVP that year, while Shanna Zolman and Brittany Jackson joined her on the all-tournament team.
UT beat Auburn in the second round (64-54) and Vanderbilt in the semifinals (76-73) that year.
The last trip to Greenville was a short visit for the Lady Vols, as they fell to Alabama, 72-64, in the second round on March 2, 2017.
LADY TIGER NOTES
LSU is led by eighth-year head coach Nikki Fargas.
Before she was married, Fargas was known as Nikki Caldwell. She played at Tennessee (1990-94) and was on the staff as a graduate assistant (1998-99) and assistant (2002-08). She won titles as a player (1991) and as an assistant coach (2007, 2008).
UT’s Holly Warlick was an assistant on UT’s staff during Fargas’ time as a player and coach.
Assistant Tasha Butts played at UT (2000-04) and was a graduate assistant there as well (2004-05).
Ayana Mitchell is a first-team All-SEC performer.
Mitchell leads the Lady Tigers in scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.5 rpg), followed by Khayla Pointer at 12.2 ppg. and 4.5 apg.
LSU finished 19-19 overall (11-5 SEC) last season and lost in the NCAA First Round.
The Tigers lost leading scorers Chloe Jackson (18.1 ppg.), who went to Baylor as a graduate transfer, and senior Raigyne Louis (16.1 ppg.).
LSU’S LAST GAME
The LSU women’s basketball team lost its regular season finale to Auburn by a score of 56-46 on Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge.
Ayana Mitchell finished with a team-high 15 points and career-best 21 rebounds. Mitchell’s 21 rebounds were the most by an LSU player since Sylvia Fowles had 20 in the 2008 Women’s Final Four semifinal against Tennessee.
THE LAST TIME WE MET
Sophomore Rennia Davis tied her season high of 24 points to power the Lady Vols past LSU, 74-65, on Jan. 27, 2019, at Thompson-Boling Arena for their annual “Live Pink, Bleed Orange” game.
Sophomore center Kasiyahna Kushkituah added a career-high 14 points and eight rebounds, while Zaay Green finished with 10 points and five assists. Davis also racked up seven rebounds while notching her fourth 20+ point game of the season. True freshman Jazmine Massengill also registered a career-best 12 points. Meme Jackson due to an ankle to injury.
Tennessee (13-7, 2-5 SEC) forced 25 turnovers, recorded 44 points in the paint and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds in the win.
The Tigers (12-7, 3-4 SEC) had three players with double-digit points, with guard Khayla Pointer leading the pack with 17 points and five assists. LSU junior forward Ayana Mitchell logged a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
LAST UT-LSU GAME AT SEC TOURNEY
Isabelle Harrison scored 21 points, Meighan Simmons and Bashaara Graves each added 14 and No. 6 Tennessee used an overpowering late run to beat LSU 77-65 in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament on March 7, 2014.
UT, spurred by a 19-0 second-half run, came back from a 15-point first-half deficit to overtake the Lady Tigers, tying the team’s biggest rally of the year.
Theresa Plaisance finished with 21 points and Danielle Ballard scored 15 for LSU (19-12).
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick and seniors Meme Jackson and Cheridene Green met with members of the media prior to practice on Tuesday in Pratt Pavilion. UT (18-11, 7-9 SEC) is preparing for the SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C., where it will face ninth-seeded LSU (16-12, 7-9 SEC) in an No. 8 vs. No. 9 match-up at noon on Thursday.
Answering questions from the media, Warlick discussed UT’s performance at Ole Miss and the importance of performing well in the SEC Tournament.
The Tennessee-LSU game will be televised by the SEC Network.
On what’s at stake and the mood of the team:
“We’ve got to win a basketball game, and they’re intelligent kids, and they know we need to win. We needed to win at Ole Miss too, so they made it a priority. And I think they’re pretty focused and ready to get down there and ready to start playing.”
On getting into the NCAA Tournament:
“I’m just worried about LSU. I can’t control what the committee is going to decide or not decide. We’ve just got to play as hard as we can and beat LSU right now.”
On the case she’d make for being included in the NCAA Tournament:
“(I’d say) how hard we play, our schedule. We’ve got to earn it though. There’s not going to be any favors or anything, so we’ve got to play hard. And if our Ole Miss game is any indication and we come out and play like that against LSU, I think we have a legitimate case, but we’ve got to show that we deserve to be there.”
On what was said to the team between the Vanderbilt and Ole Miss games:
“We met, and the team met, which was really positive, and I just talked about a lot of their self-pride and what they stand for and getting back to playing together as a team. You can talk and you can motivate, and it’s not like we didn’t motivate throughout the whole year, but our kids decided it was important to them, and they played hard (at Ole Miss). When you play hard – I’ve said this the whole time – when you play hard and you play with a lot of passion and energy and selflessness, we’re pretty darn good basketball team.”
On how frustrating it is as a coach in the difference of play against Vanderbilt and Ole Miss:
“That’s funny you said that, because you’re extremely happy for them and then get mad at the same time. As a coach you’ve got to keep moving forward and keep building on what you saw. We’re going to build on that. I know it’s in them, and I know what they can do. They set a pretty high level of intensity and performance, and we need to have that exact same performance against LSU.”
On her message to the team before Ole Miss:
“My talk before (the game) didn’t have anything to do with X’s and O’s. They were prepared and ready, and I just wanted them to see the big picture.”
On the key to success in the win over LSU earlier this season:
“I thought, going back and looking at it, we played well together. Our defense was solid. We gave them probably too many offensive rebounds, which kept them in the game. But we got a great performance out of our inside game. We just played really well together, and when you do that with the talent we have… we just need to carry that over to our second game.”
On Mimi Collins’ development:
“I will tell you this, Mimi Collins has always been a pretty solid offensive player. The only thing I kept telling Mimi that was holding her back was her defense and her defensive presence, and she’s really worked at it. She’s playing with a lot of confidence, and I told her, ‘Your time is coming.” And I’m going to play people who perform and help this basketball team, and I gave Mimi that opportunity and she stepped up. And she stepped up before she was starting, and now she started against Ole Miss and did a great job, so as long she continues to step up and play hard like she has been, I’m going to play her. We need her.”
On Rennia Davis being named to the All-SEC Second Team:
“Rennia has been someone for us that we’ve had to go to. She’s had a lot of pressure on her. She has had an up and down season, but we’re really proud of her for handling a lot of the adversity, and then continuing to step up. She has worked at her craft; she’s in the gym all the time, and when you do that and put in the time like Rennia has done, great things are going to happen. This award is a reflection of her putting in the time, and I’m really proud of her.”
On sophomores stepping us as leaders:
“Well, number one: it’s hard for (Rennia) being a sophomore. Number two: that is not her personality. She she’s not a vocal leader, and it’s very hard for her. So, we’re asking her to do a lot of difficult things, but she’s gotten out of her comfort zone and tried to help this basketball team. It’s hard for all of them. Evina Westbrook, too, she’s a sophomore. It has been difficult. We’ve learned throughout the season what we need to do and what we don’t need to do, and it is a growing process. When you don’t have upperclassmen that have been here and have led, it’s extremely difficult.”
On Kasiyahna’s Kushkituah not playing at Ole Miss:
“She had a death in her family, and she was gone Saturday. (Her not playing) had nothing to do with Kasi and her performance. We’re just excited that everybody else stepped up and had a great game.”
On if she’s talked to the team about how important the game against LSU is:
Absolutely. They’re intelligent. Unlike me, they’re on social media 24-7, so they see what’s been said. They know what’s at stake, and it’d be really foolish for me to try to hide that. The Ole Miss game, we talked about that. That was a huge game for us. We had a lot at stake there. We talked a lot about it. Really every game that we’ve played since we’ve been in the SEC, they understand the importance. They’re intelligent young ladies, and they’ve got to take what they know is important and their skill level and their effort and put it to use.”
On difference between games against Vandy and Ole Miss:
“We were playing with a lot of energy and effort all over the floor. We were also playing together, and we had great ball movement.”
On NCAA Tournament chances:
“Our plan is to take it game by game. We aren’t looking too far ahead. We are looking at our next game, and our next game is LSU, so that is what we are focusing on.”
On advice to freshmen:
“Right now, in tournament play, everyone starts off 0-0, because it is a new record and new season. We just have to go out there with a mindset that it’s just one game at a time.”
On what was said after Vanderbilt:
“Holly talked to us about it, and that was not our identity or who were are. We had a team meeting as well, and we decided that is not how we wanted to end our season, so we had to get together, and I think we have gotten it together.”
On giving freshman advice:
“We just tell them to stay focused whether you are nervous or not. We told them to just play your game and be yourself. We told them not to think about the tournament or what people are saying, but just be true to yourself and have fun with it too.”
On previous win against LSU:
“I think our effort was there, and we played defense well. LSU is a great defensive team, and we matched that toward the end of the game. We need to make sure we give great effort and stay focused on the game plan.”
On the team meeting:
“We just needed reassurance on the team, and we asked everybody if their goals are all the same. We hold each other accountable to make sure we want what we want, and we have to show it in our actions too.”
On the difference between games against Vandy and Ole Miss:
“Our defense was the main difference. I think Meme had a great game, too, and that also brought everyone along. Our energy was there, too. We were talking to each other, we were holding each other accountable, and we were listening to what the coach was saying. We were together, and that is how it needs to be from here on out.”
