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Nov. 24, 2006

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TENNESSEE HEAD COACH Pat Summitt:

"I thought overall our team did a good job of keeping pressure on Stanford. We had some breakdowns, but that's part of the game. When you look at their frontline game, we expected Brooke Smith to be more of a factor. Jayne Appel came in and took over. I thought we did a good job on Smith and (Kristen) Newlin. Our defensive pressure and tempo got us out to some runs."

(on the performance of Candace Parker) "Without a doubt, I thought this was Candace Parker's best all-around game. She provided support defensively; she was running the floor; she was getting back-to-back plays; and she was getting others involved. She had what I call valuable spurts throughout the game. Credit the team. When we needed to score, they did a good job of getting the ball inside to her."

"We lean on her a lot. I expect a lot from her every game. I see the good, but I also see the possessions that she takes off. She limited those this game. She really came to play."

"This was a really physical game for both teams. We had some early fouls. We were not as aggressive as we were in the Arizona State game. In different parts of the country, the officiating varies. We got in foul trouble at times. We'd like for Shannon (Bobbitt) and Alexis (Hornbuckle) not to take themselves out of the game with foul trouble."

(on the performance of Cait McMahan) "I thought Cait did a great job. She was alert and played uptempo. In the second half, she got us off to a great start. She was aggressive. Offensively, she forced the team to run. She made a lot of good decisions offensively."

(on rebounding) "For one thing, we shot a lot better. We played inconsistent at times. We talked about it at halftime. We could be a much better rebounding team. We have to pursue the ball."

"Defensively, we did some good things. That helped to make up for our offensive execution. The edge was that we were able to generate offense off of our defense. We were able to maintain a lead before halftime. I feel good about our defense."

(on Stanford freshman Jayne Appel) "Appel did a great job of getting in the paint and staying in the paint."

(on Tennessee's showing from the free-throw line) "After the Arizona State game, I said that individuals were going to have to run if they didn't make their free throws. They got into the gym and took extra shots. The pressure was on them. It was good for the team. They made free throws for the team and for themselves."

(on Nicky Anosike) "We depend Nicky a lot defensively. When she is not in the game, it makes a big difference. She plays interior defense and can play perimeter defense. She is so valuable to us. She plays great support defense."

(on the Tennessee-Stanford matchup) "It was pretty much Tennessee-Stanford kind of basketball. Their posts were very physical. (Jayne) Appel did the best job of posting up against us."

"It's not like they run a lot of different looks. You've just got to stop them. They have great spacing and spread out. They got a lot of high-low looks. They're well-drilled and have good skills. It was a challenge for us to mix it up and keep them off balance. We got opportunities to disrupt what they were trying to do."

Candace Parker:

(on Tennessee's energy coming into the game) "We knew coming in that Stanford was going to try to beat us. We got each other hyped up and fed off each other's energy and defense. When Shannon (Bobbitt) and Alexis (Hornbuckle) got in foul trouble, we knew we had to step up."

(on officiating) "I never got frustrated with the officials. They made great calls. I'm being serious. We make mistakes as players."

"From an energy standpoint, when you lose two starters to foul trouble, you've got to find someone to take over. Cait (McMahan) stepped in and played huge. I'm proud of her."

"We focused on Brooke Smith and Kristen Newlin and did a good job. (Jayne) Appel came in and did a great job for them. They got too many easy buckets."

(on Tennessee-Stanford matchup)

"It has been a heated rivalry the last few games with games going down to the wire. We didn't want that this game. This year, defense is everything for us. We're building off of that."

Alexis Hornbuckle:

(on free throw shooting) "We had a threat that individually, if we didn't shoot 75 percent or better, we would be running by ourselves in practice. Coming into this game, that was our focus."

"Our shot selection, we had a lot quick shots and outside jumpers. Our emphasis was playing together. We took advantage of that, and it played to our advantage."

Sidney Spencer:

"Coach (Summitt) has been saying that when you struggle offensively, you've got to get on defense and get rebounds and do the little things on defense, things that you can control."

"At halftime, we were motivated to rebound. We outrebounded a team. At times, we have been struggling. We discussed that."

STANFORD HEAD COACH TARA VanDERVEER:

"I thought our team struggled with the Tennessee pressure. I thought Tennessee played really well defensively. I was really pleased with our two freshmen. Melanie Murphy, I thought she did a really nice job of running our offense. And Jayne Appel is going to be a great player for us. Candice (Wiggins) had kind of a quiet game. Defensively, I don't think we did as well as we wanted to. I think that it's so early (in the season), this is a great opportunity for our team to see the type of intensity that's out there. Tennessee is going to have a great year, and we also want to have a great year."

(on Candice Wiggins' quiet game): "I think Candice has been pressing a lot, not just in this game but in other games. She just needs to relax and play. She does great things for our team. But I think she puts a lot of pressure on herself, and she just needs to come out and play."

(on Appel's game): "Jayne was one-on-one basically every time she got the ball. She has really good moves close to the basket. I thought she got herself in good position, and people got her the ball. Melanie Murphy had five assists; I think all five were to Jayne. Brooke Smith had four assists, probably four of them to Jayne. People look for Jayne, she's a big target. I thought Jayne played very confidently. She blocked shots; she has really good timing. Again, I think our freshmen really stepped up big."

(on Kristen Newlin and Brooke Smith): "We need more from Kristen, she's been playing very well. She had a great game against Tennessee last year. Obviously, we're a different team, and they're a different team. Brooke did a really nice job based on what they were giving her, and she did a good job passing the ball. I thought Brooke worked really hard defensively, but I think she's capable of giving us more on offense. We were never able to get into the flow, and I think that's a credit to Tennessee's defense."

(on losing 11 straight to Tennessee): "Tennessee has a great team; they have a great program. We could stop the losing streak if we didn't want to schedule them. It's November. We've played them tough; we didn't play them as tough as we wanted to this time. But I think it helps us in the long run; it is a win-win whether we win the game or not. We wouldn't schedule them unless we felt that. I think this is a great college atmosphere. Playing basketball here is something our team looks forward to. We'd like to win, but they played better than we did. We have to learn from it and improve."

CANDICE WIGGINS:

(on the difference in the game): "I would say the points that Tennessee got off turnovers. Easy baskets, layups and transition were the biggest key. They get a lot of energy from the crowd, They get that going and get really aggressive on defense."

(on the difference in UT between this year and last year): "It's the same players - there's a few different ones - but it's night and day when they're at home. They get the crowd behind him. They play with a lot of energy. I think they're more aggressive. Last year at Stanford, they were a little less physical, but I think they get a lot of energy from the crowd."