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Nov. 16, 2006

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

TENNESSEE HEAD COACH Pat Summitt:

"I thought our defensive intensity, particularly our fullcourt pressure, generated a lot of offense for us. Our team didn't buy into the scouting report on (UCLA players) Noelle Quinn and Lindsey Pluimer until after halftime. We talked about needing to limit their touches, and we did fine in the second half. This was a good learning experience for us. We adjusted in the second half and did a better job."

(on better defense against UCLA players Noelle Quinn and Lindsey Pluimer in the second half) "We switched ball screens and did a better job of putting pressure on Quinn. Nicky (Anosike) was much more effective on Lindsey (Pluimer). We made other people make plays. We were more effective in the second half."

(on scoring efficiency) "We talked about being more committed to moving the ball and reversing the ball and being unselfish. With the tempo that we're playing, it's not difficult to move the ball. I think this team likes the uptempo game and sharing the ball and are proud of their teammates when they score. This is a team game. Our balance comes from trusting each other and making plays. That's the way this game is supposed to be played."

"I'm not that surprised. That's how we've practiced. We've worked on moving the ball. We have players that understand what they need to do to be effective. They're constantly looking for the player with the best opportunity to score. They're trying to find the open players--Sidney (Spencer) and Dom (Redding) outside and Candace (Parker) inside."

(on the performance of Sidney Spencer) "I think Sidney (Spencer) would say that she didn't have a good defensive game. She was much better in the second half. She was effective offensively, but she could have taken more shots. She's got to stay with an aggressive mindset. She was 6-for-9 (from the floor), but she could have been 9-for-12."

(on bench play) "I'm happy with our bench. We have depth, and that allows us to rest players and not lose a lot (when they are on the floor)."

(on the performance of Candace Parker) "Candace scored a lot of different ways. In the first half, she settled for faceups. I don't think there's anyone who can take away from her inside game. In the second half, she showed the player that she can be. She showed a lot of different dimensions."

(on upcoming opponent Arizona State) "I haven't watched Arizona State yet. I have a policy of not looking ahead of the team that we are playing. (Associate head coach) Holly (Warlick) and (assistant coach) Dean (Lockwood) have watched, though. Holly says that they will be a real challenge for us. They're aggressive defensively; they shoot well, and they space well. Both Holly and Dean were impressed. I didn't want to hear that. At home, they have a 26-game winning streak. This team needs to go into a hostile arena. They will have to be a 40-minute team."

(on defense) "UCLA was doing what they wanted to do before halftime. We had a lot of defensive breakdowns. We weren't focused on the defensive end. Against an offensive-minded team like UCLA, you can't do that. We let them get touches when they wanted to get touches. We weren't very disruptive. The team took pride at halftime. We talked about what they hadn't done. We talked about limiting touches and doing a better job of scouting report defense. The team wasn't happy at halftime, and they work better if they're not happy."

"I hope that we're never in the situation again that we were a year ago when we didn't have enough guards. Because of injuries and a transfer, we were shorthanded. This season, we have people who can handle the ball, play off the dribble, and push tempo. We're able to rotate players. Our inside players are confident and not worried about our perimeter play."

Candace Parker:

(on Tennessee's newfound uptempo style of play) "Coming in, we were excited because we brought in a lot of quickness. With the experience that we have, I think Coach Summitt trusts our judgment to run in transition more. I'm happy with our uptempo style."

"Honestly, all five players can bring the ball up and start the break. It's hard to scout. It's hard to keep the ball out of all five players' hands. We're sharing the ball, getting the ball up the court, and pushing tempo."

(on foul trouble in first half) "This is the second game that I've done that to the team. I take full responsibility. I've got to not get stupid fouls. It's hard to adjust to the new rule about putting your hands on the opposing player. I've learned my lesson."

Nicky Anosike:

(on Tennessee's uptempo style) "We have fun with each other. It's different from last year. We play uptempo and get transition buckets."

(on the difference in guarding UCLA's Noelle Quinn in the first half and second half) "I think the difference was that Alexis (Hornbuckle) got into quick foul trouble. Bird (Alberta Auguste) doesn't have the same experience. In the second half (with Hornbuckle back), it was like clockwork."

(on Tennessee's upcoming first road game) "There's an adjustment to playing on the road. It's not easy. Our job (as upperclassmen) is to get them ready. It's nothing that they can't handle."

(on defending UCLA's Lindsey Pluimer in the second half) "She was getting too many garbage points. I wanted to keep her from getting the ball in her hands and not getting easy points."

Sidney Spencer:

(on Tennessee's offensive efficiency) "We have people who can score at all five positions. We have two true point guards. We're playing in our normal positions. I like our chemistry. Our defense feeds off transition buckets. We're more uptempo and looking for the open person. Our chemistry is unbelievable right now."

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UCLA HEAD COACH KATHY OLIVIER:

"We came in here and competed for about 32 minutes, and when you come into Knoxville, there's no way you can play for 32 minutes. You've got to play for 40. They have a great program. Pat does an unbelievable job, and they're going to compete for 40 minutes. We competed for 32, and that's just not enough in Knoxville, Tenn."

(On Tennessee's quick start in the second half): "It's kind of a blur. I don't really remember the beginning of the second half. We have a young basketball team. We have four seniors and (junior Lindsey Plumier), but for the most part, we have a young team. At halftime, there was a lot of chatter, and I think our team was pretty excited how we finished the first half. I knew something was going to hit in that opening of the second half. Tennessee does such a good job of going on runs at home. They picked it up on defense and got some easy transition baskets and kind of broke open the game. I needed about three more timeouts, and maybe we could have gotten it together."

(On getting more players involved in the scoring): "A lot of our offense goes through (senior guard) Noelle (Quinn) and through Plumier. You always want to see more people get involved. In our first game at home, we had four or five people in double figures. You always want to see more scoring from other players. You hope that other people step up. I think we have some depth. I think this is a great experience for us. Like Noelle said, it's an awesome atmosphere. We're going to build from this game and get more people involved. We're going to go home and work out some of the kinks and hopefully get better from this."

(On being picked to finish sixth in the Pac-10): "Well, I think that UCLA has one of the best players in the country in Noelle Quinn. We're playing the type of schedule for someone like Noelle, who gets to compete against a Candace Parker, a Courtney Paris (Oklahoma), (Ivory) Latta from North Carolina, (Candice) Wiggins from Stanford. I think any time you have a top player in the country on your team, you're going to compete and you're going to be up there as one of the best. I think that's what the Pac-10 is saying. We're a very competitive conference. It sounds like Tennessee is in the Pac-10 this year, they're playing so many Pac-10 teams. We're going to compete. They want to pick us sixth? Last year they picked us low, and we ended up going on a tear. If they want to motivate our team and keep picking us low, that's fine with me. It just helps me motivate the players."

(On Tennessee's guard play): "You can tell that they added quickness, double zero (Shannon Bobbitt) is very quick. She gets after it, she pushes the ball up the floor. That's something Tennessee hurt us on, those transition baskets. Number two (Cait McMahan) came in and did some very positive things also. She took care of the basketball. She got the ball to the right people. Those two are definitely going to make Tennessee a better basketball team. I think last year, not having a true point guard hurt them. I think Pat does a great job. She recruits very talented players. And with all the athleticism on this team, they're going to get up and down the floor. You can't allow Tennessee easy baskets like we did in the second half. A big test will be against (Arizona State). ASU, at home, is very comfortable. They will come after their guards, and they're going to pressure like no other. It will be a very good test for Tennessee."

NOELLE QUINN:

"As a collegiate athlete, these are the environments you want to play in. We actually did have a good following, one of our teammates (freshman Amy Horton) is from close by (Tallapoosa, Ga.). It was exciting for me. This is like the Mecca of women's basketball. Just being here was a great experience."

(On the start of the second half): "I think we started off with a lot of turnovers, which led to easy baskets for Tennessee. We kind of got out of sync a little bit, and their defense rattled us a little bit. We couldn't really get it together. That first five minutes is very crucial."

(On the speed of Tennessee): "They're a great program, but it's nothing we haven't seen. Lots of teams in the Pac-10 have very good personnel just like Tennessee. They're a great team. Their on-ball pressure is a little better. They are a little bigger and more athletic, and that gave us a little trouble."