Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening statement…
“Well, great win. It is obvious that the team shot the ball really well tonight and did a good job forcing some turnovers and just need to keep working and trying to improve. I am proud of the players tonight. I am glad that we were able to get in Rupp Arena and play a game and do well. So, it was a good game for us.”
On tonight’s game being preparation for Louisville…
“We have just got to, with every game we have and every opportunity, we have got to do our best. So, that is what we are trying to prepare for. But obviously, that will be a very tough game and we will try to make sure that we are taking the good stuff from tonight like we have with all of our other games and build on that and then try to improve on whatever we can clean up.”
On Jaida Roper’s night…
“So much fun. You know, she just really got into a good rhythm. She made some really good plays there in the first half cutting to the basket. She shot the 3 well and she was doing really good from the field. But, she really made some smart plays and she was able to earn some buckets and then as it started getting closer in the second half, I tried to call some things that would give her an opportunity. But again, we didn’t want to force anything and make it about one player. But, she just played really smart and she took good shots and did not force anything tonight. She just played a really smart forward game. I am happy for her and it has to be a great feeling to have that kind of game.”
On the decision to sit Rhyne Howard in the second half…
“No, she stepped on somebody’s shoe there early in the game. You saw she played well in the first half, but just an abundance of caution. I didn’t want to try to aggravate it. She would’ve gone and could’ve gone, but just trying to be really cautious there. We will check it out, but it happened very early in the first half and she played a good half. So, we just wanted to make sure that we did not put her in any other jeopardy with the margin being there and give some other folks a chance to get some playing time and work on their games.”
Kentucky Player Quotes
#3 KeKe McKinney, F, Jr.
On playing Louisville Sunday…
“It is just another game. We are going to treat it like it is another game. We are going to go out there and play Kentucky ball.”
#32 Jaida Roper, G, Sr.
On career-high 30 points…
“I was just real focused. I came here earlier and got some shots up. I was feeling pretty good and I was just locked in. When I got going, my teammates were going in and encouraging me, shout out to them.”
On Rhyne Howard’s 30-point game last Sunday…
“When I had 25, she looked at me and said, “you better get 30.” So, it was a challenge and I stepped up to it, so hopefully she comes back and gets 30 next game. We can play the game tit-for-tat.”
On what Coach Mitchell said going into halftime with a big lead…
“He tries to get us refocused we don’t really worry about the lead. We try to work on things we need to improve on. It differs from every game – offensive rebounds, crashing the boards, transition to offense. We just try to work on things we have to improve on and not worry about the score.”