#13 KENTUCKY VS. NORTH ALABAMA
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2021
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
Kentucky Head Coach Kyra Elzy
On the difference from the first half to the second…
“I thought early on we let our offense affect our defense again, so we really have to mature in that area. We’re playing too fast in the half court. We settled for quick shots, one pass, jack up a shot. We weren’t letting the offense flow. In the second half, we talked about when we get four to five passes, when we play inside out, we get rhythm shots, which is good for us, and we can knock those down.”
On playing intentionally on the offensive end…
“Part of it is just settling in and gelling together. Obviously, we want to play extremely fast in transition offense. We want to play 100 mph, then play 100 mph defensively, but when we get to the quarter court, we’re still playing 100 mph instead of about 45 or 50. When we can take what the defense gives us, and let our offense run it all the way through, we can get open looks. “
On Robyn Benton’s first career start performance…
“She had a great game. I was proud of her. I thought she was consistent, she was steady, she was aggressive offensively. I like her shot selection. She was driving to the rim, finishing 50%, so that’s a great night for her. Also on the defensive end, she brought the energy that I was looking for, so she was solid.”
On how pleased she was with Dre’una Edwards’ performance…
I’m so pleased. We’ll take it. I hope she continues to score 20. She’s worked so hard in the off season, so it’s good to see her hard work paying off. She’s fit, so that gives her a longer time on the floor, and is able to play through fatigue, which was a struggle for her last year. Also, she’s slowed down offensively. She’s actually seeing the rim, taking her time, making the right moves. So, it’s good to see her hard work pay off.
On what key things she wants to improve on during the short turn around for Indiana…
“I wish we had a longer time but we do not. One is just recovery. We have to make sure we are taking care of our bodies. Two, our offensive execution. We have to be more sound, slow down, execute. Our help side defense – we got to be better. If they have a straight-line drive, we’ve got to get the help, get the rotation, and make people score over us instead of around. “
On communication and trust with Jazmine Massengill…
“We have great communication and chemistry. She’s a veteran point guard. She understands what we’re looking for in the offense. They trust her, I trust her. She’s one of the leaders on this team. She has good poise about her. She knows when to push, she knows when to pull back. She has a good feel, but she also can get in the huddle and coach them up and tell them what she sees and what we need to get done, so, love her poise. “
On Jada Walker’s performance…
“I thought she gave us a big boost off the bench. Her ‘on ball’ defense is a beautiful thing to watch. I like her aggressiveness, she looks to push in transition, and she’s only a freshman. She’s still figuring it out but the intensity in which she plays, you’ve got to love it.”
Kentucky Student-Athletes
#44, Dre’una Edwards, R-Jr., Forward
On throwing up 17 points in the third quarter…
“My teammates really fed me the ball when I was open on the post. I just went out there and did what I was supposed to do. I couldn’t do it without the ball though, and they got it to me.”
On the team’s explosion in the third quarter these past three games, and the force behind it …
“Our first half the first two games, is not what we have been supposed to do. At halftime, we just get together and talk about it. Then we just get fired up to go out there because it’s a new half, and we’ve got to do what we need to do.”
On focusing and executing in the first quarter…
“It’s definitely a work in progress. It’s only the first two games so we’re going to get it together.”
On having three games in a six-day span, and how they prepare for each one…
“We’ve just got to mentally lock in and mentally focus. We know that we have a short turn around so that’s when we’ve got to be mature and focus up. We’ve got to go do this, because we need it.”
On having a good game against North Alabama and how it boosts their confidence going into Indiana…
“I just know it’s going to translate, because once Robyn gets hot, she doesn’t stop.”
On embracing the opportunity of going against a top 10 team for their third game of the season…
“We use it as motivation to fire us up. We’re not mad about it. It’s like okay we got it, we know we’re cool.”
On fixing their slow start in the first half for Indiana…
“I feel like we’ve been having slow starts because we’ve been playing to the level of our competition. We know that this is a big game and we’re not going to go out there sluggish, or not knowing the correct defense or not communicating that correct way. We’re going to go out there locked in, mentally focused and we’re already prepared so we’re ready.”
On Indiana’s big player Nicole Cardaño-Hillary throwing up 29 points in their opening game and their thoughts…
“We’re going to have to get after it. Our coaches probably talked about it and what they’re going to have us do. We have not spoken about it. We’re not worried about that; we’re worried about us.”
On Blair’s impact on the team, even though she is injured…
“She’s definitely had a huge impact. That’s coach Beezy (the team’s nickname for Blair Green) right there.”
#10, Rhyne Howard, Sr., Guard
On the team’s explosion in the third quarter these past three games, and the force behind it…
“Piggybacking off that we know that we can’t be playing around with these girls out here. When we go in at halftime we just pull in and talk about going in and not letting them stop us.”
On having three games in a six-day span, and how they prepare for each one…
“After the game, we talk about what we need to talk about. Then, the next day we look at it as a new opportunity to get better. The next day we will focus on the new team and just start there.”
On embracing the opportunity of going against a top 10 team for their third game of the season…
“Most of the time when we go play a top team the odds are against us. So, we just use that as motivation.”
On fixing their slow start in the first half for Indiana…
“I feel like we’ve been playing sort of sluggish because we’re not getting our shots. So, it has affected us on the defensive end. We’re going to come out hot, because we know what the odds are and how big of a game this is.”
On Blair’s impact on the team, even though she is injured…
“That’s Coach Green.”
#1 Robyn Benton, Sr., Guard
On focusing and executing in the first quarter…
“We make adjustments along the way. We’re working it, we’re working on coming out hard and fast. It’s just a work in progress right now.”
On having three games in a six-day span, and how they prepare for each one…
“We just take it one day at a time, one game at a time. We prepare right after our game, so tomorrow were going to talk about what we need to do for Indiana.”
On her first career start at Kentucky and how it felt…
“It felt good, like James Brown good.”
On having a good game against North Alabama and how it boosts their confidence going into Indiana…
“It definitely gives me confidence going into Indiana. We know it’s going to be a big road contest. Hopefully this performance just translates to Indiana.”
On embracing the opportunity of going against a top 10 team for their third game of the season…
“We’ve just got to focus. We set goals at the beginning of the season, and we just need to execute them.”
On Indiana’s big player Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scoring29 points in their opening game and their thoughts…
“We have been focused on North Alabama. We have not even talked about Indiana yet.”