Lady Vols' Quotes From NCAA Press Conference

Quotes from Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick and players Cierra Burdick and Ariel Massengale prior to today's pre-tournament practice held at Thompson-Boling Arena on the University of Tennessee campus:

Head Coach Holly Warlick: 

(Opening statement) 
"Excited to be here.

I think our players worked hard to get to this point. We talk a lot about where we started in the summer and how we ended up and we're right where we want to be. We take one game at a time and we're looking forward to getting started tomorrow."

(On the advantage of hosting the opening rounds) 
"We choose to stay in our own rooms rather than a hotel. It's a huge advantage; I'm not going to lie. The comfort of home, having your fans here, familiar with the floor, the surroundings, get to stay in your own bed. It's huge for us. We've gone and we've left in the past of going to a hotel, but [the players] all live in the same dorm, same complex, so I think the least amount that we can disrupt, the best. We're just trying to treat this like it's a home game and trying to be as little disruptive for our team as possible."

(On how the loss to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament final refocused the team) 
"We're going to learn from a loss. Probably what we've been dealing with in all of our losses is we've got to become a better rebounding team. We've got to become a better defensive team. We can't rely on our offense to control what we do. I thought in the South Carolina game we just ran out of steam. We played the majority of seven kids three games in a row--that was tough for us. It's a fight; it's a battle. I think they understood it. We went back to work, took some days off, and went back to work and told them, "you're never going to have to play three games in a row but the competition when you get into the NCAA Tournament every night is huge." So we just try to focus on ourselves and get better, try to correct our weaknesses that I think we've identified and just try to make this team a better team."

(On what stands out about Boise State) 
"I think they play really, really well together. They spread the floor, they've got great 3-point shooters. The point guard is savvy, she does some really good things. She pushes the ball, she's a great ball-handler, can shoot the three, can penetrate so that makes it difficult. I think they're a very well-coached team. They do multiple action things so at times it's a difficult team to scout because it's not a "I'm going to pass here and do this"--it may start off doing that--but I think they play well together enough to where they've got random ball screens, they'll cut back door, they'll penetrate and kick. They are a solid basketball team. We've got our work cut out for us."

(On responding to the loss of Isabelle Harrison) 
"It has been difficult. You're taking Isabelle Harrison off our team, who no question has been our All-American, and I look around the country and think, "What would Connecticut do without Brianna Stewart? What would South Carolina do without Tiffany Mitchell?" And then I look at what we've surrounded ourselves with and we've got great talent in a lot of different spots. We're really a seasoned team. Massengale's been playing the majority of her career here, so has Burdick. Jordan Reynoldshad to step in last year as a freshman and so did Andraya Carter. So we've got key people in good spots. And then I look at how we're just great competitors and if we didn't believe in ourselves and have confidence in each other, I'd be worried. This team has been so different from ones in the past. The chemistry is really good, it's really solid."

(On how loses early in the season affected team)
"That's a great question. We have a tremendous amount of respect obviously for UTC. Jim Foster's been doing this for a while. He's an outstanding coach. He had his team playing with no fear. Still does. I think he exposes the little things coaches preach in practice. Contact on box outs. Communication. Talking. Those simple things. Same thing at Texas. Don't communicate. Don't sprint the floor. Those two teams and those two coaches exposed our weakness early. Sometimes a coach constantly preaches, 'You've got to talk, communication, get back, get back." Sometimes when you win, kids say, 'Yeah right, we won.' It was a great teaching tool. What the coaches say makes a lot of sense. We went up to Rutgers, and we needed to get a win. We hadn't lost three in a row for a long time, since I've been here. I think they took from those two games what we didn't do, they put into action against a really good Rutgers and won the game. I think at halftime we were shooting 14 percent, but I had no idea. I was just so excited about how were were playing defense and rebounding and playing. I think they got it and it clicked. Those two losses were against solid teams who are obviously in the tournament. It's a learning experience. Sometimes winning can mask what you need to work on or what the coaches say. We didn't mask that. We got our butts beat."

(On unique parts about Tennessee game environment)
"I think our fans have been following us starting with Pat and her success. They love women's basketball. This is an area that loves women's basketball. The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is here. It's been real supportive by the university and the local media and the national media. I think they're going to enjoy the environment. It's loud. I think for the most part I hope we're really knowledgeable. At least they seem to think so when the official calls a bad call. I hope they see how women's basketball is received here and should be received all across the country. Boise State puts in the time just like the University of Tennessee. They practice just as hard. To me, every one of these teams deserves to play in front of big crowds, sell out crowds. If we're a model for people to use, that's great. I think Boise State has a great product to put on the floor and is very deserving of playing in front of a big crowd. I think we put a great product on the floor, and our fans still come. They love the game. They love what it stands for. It started a long time ago obviously like I said with Pat and hopefully we carry that on. It's a great environment, and it's an environment for women's basketball. There's no men's game after us. There's no men's game before us. It is women's basketball, and I think it's very deserving to have a great crowd."

(On if Pat Summitt will address the team)
She will be at the game. I spent some time with her. If she gets here early, she will speak to the team. She just enjoys coming out and she enjoys the game right now. She doesn't have to think about what press to run or who we're going to put in or what the score is or what I need to say when no one can hear me. She just sits there and enjoys the game. She will be here tomorrow and support not just us but to support women's basketball because that was her goal of getting into coaching basketball. Obviously she wanted to win here at Tennessee, but the one thing about Pat that always stands out is that she wanted what's best for women's basketball and I know she is excited about all the teams coming in. She talked about all the teams coming in, and she loves the game. That's what special about her. She helped create all this environment for Boise State to enjoy. A lot of things she did before these young ladies' times that help the enjoy what they have now."

Tennessee Senior Forward Cierra Burdick:

(On Boise State) 
"I think they're a penetrate-and-kick type of team. They've got a lot of balanced scoring, they've got some girls that can hit the three, they've got some big girls inside as well as some slashers, so offensively I think they're pretty balanced. We've just got to know our scout and who we're guarding and prepare to put a lot of pressure on them to make them play fast."

(On the pressure to get back to the Final Four) 
"There's no pressure, just a great opportunity. I know myself, A-Mass [Ariel Massengale], and Izzy-B [Isabelle Harrison], we want to get this program back to the Final Four. We believe that's where we deserve to be. Holly needs to get there as a head coach and I think we want to get there for Pat [Summitt], who gave us the opportunity to play and put on this jersey. And we want to get there for ourselves, man. We've put a lot of work into this program and I think we've got the right personnel and the right staff and we've been working in practice. It's just a matter of taking it one game at a time, one day at a time, and the rest will take care of itself."

(On defending against Boise State's shooters) 
"When you go against people who have great shooters, you have to limit their touches. That's what we'll do. I think they averaged 22 3-point attempts. You've got to limit their touches. What I think is going to be key for us is defending one-on-one, because if they get past you, you start rotating your defense. We're going to be in trouble because they'll kick out and they're great 3-point shooters. So we've got to guard personnel. All 3-point players, we'll try to limit their touches, keep their players in front of us. It goes down to, 'Can I guard my player one-on-one?' That's going to be key for us tomorrow. Can I go one-on-one with you and make you make a shot over me."

Tennessee Senior Guard Ariel Massengale:

(On whether playing at home provides pressure or comfort) 
"I think it's definitely a comfort level, but as we all know it's the NCAA Tournament. Anything can happen -- that comes with being in March Madness. We can't focus on the past; the present is what's most important and we have to take care of business tomorrow."

(On what the seniors have told the freshman about playing in the NCAA Tournament) 
"Just to take advantage of the opportunity. We all came to Tennessee to compete for a national championship and to understand that we need to take it one game at a time and to keep their focus on Boise State just like the rest of us. We tell them to go out there and give it all that they have. It's one game at a time and we've got to take care of that first 40 minutes." 

(Contact Dennis Norwood at sportsshooter614@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @DennisENorwood)