Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening statement…
“Good win for the Cats today, really happy to get it. They are hard to come by and just have to keep working everyday trying to get better. I thought we had a couple good days of practice and got better throughout the week. We had some good things happen for us; shot the ball from 3 really well, passed the ball really well. So, happy to win the game.”
On Rhyne Howard’s career high today…
“We just need her to play with that type of mentality. I told her throughout this process, this is the kind of team we have. We need for her to be really productive and efficient. So, some days it may be a big point total, other days when people are trying to commit a lot of resources to you, it may be assists or it doesn’t even show up in the stat sheet, it’s just because you’re a presence on the floor. No doubt, she is a huge part of our production, offensively. She just continues to show signs of growth and I thought she had some great finishes around the basket today, and that has been something we’ve been focused on, trying to help her with. To her credit, she has been working on… she’s been working hard to play with the proper pace and that’s not always the easiest thing to do. Happy for her, she’s been working hard, and she’s a big part of what we do. Glad to see her have a big day.”
On Samford getting open looks in first quarter…
“I just didn’t think we started the game off particularly sharp. We went 9-0 to start. It has happened sometimes and it’s just one of those things we have to get better. What a tough team does, stays focused no matter what’s going on and it’s just hard to do sometimes, and we didn’t get that done early in the game. Samford really made us pay. Just a scramble in transition, and just running back and standing in the lanes instead of getting matched up. You have to talk your way through that. It’s something that I felt we made some improvements on in practice, but it didn’t show up early.”
On checking rankings…
“Like I’ve told you guys before, I’m probably the coach that pays the least attention to that. It really makes no difference this particular time of year. We have to get better. There are games coming at us, non-conference, at the end non-conference and when we get in to conference play, if you win games it will all take care of itself. We keep winning games, we’ll be ranked sky high.”
On Chasity Patterson’s return…
“We’re so excited. We’re 12-13 days away now from her taking the floor for the Wildcats and it’s something that we’re very excited about. The only day off she has is during these two hours of the game that we play. She works out really hard before the game to try to get in a game simulation. From an effort standpoint, works really, really hard on the day of the game to try to make sure she doesn’t lose any activity she would lose in the game. And other than that, she is completely integrated into the team. She’s doing a great job in practice unless something just went really wacky and she showed up with a bad attitude and started practicing real bad in the next 12 days. She’s going to be taking the floor for us versus Cal and we couldn’t be more excited. She is going to be a boost to us.”
On upcoming games in Rupp Arena…
“We think Rupp is a fun place for us to go play. We love Memorial Coliseum, such a special venue for us and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. We are really excited for the upcoming renovation for Memorial and it’s just an outstanding venue. And when you get to go to Rupp, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a great atmosphere, and people identify with it all over the world as it being a top-notch arena.”
UK Student-Athletes
#10 Rhyne Howard, So., G
On your career-high 30 points…
“Yeah, my teammates and coaches were trying to tell me how many more points I needed, so they were telling me to stay aggressive and they were helping me get in, so it felt good to finally break 29 points.”
On your ovation after coach took you out of the game…
“Yeah, the fans are a pick me up, they really get this team going.”
On your defensive progress…
“I think today was pretty good. I had a couple steals. I thought I was active all over the floor and helping out my teammates and not letting them down today.”
#1 Sabrina Haines, R-Sr., G
On if the team looks at the rankings…
“I don’t, because rankings change all the time. It’s good that we are being recognized for our hard work, but I think our play will show more, so as long as we are getting these wins and doing what we need to do, we will be recognized for what we do.”
On if you’re looking forward to playing in Rupp Arena…
“Yes, I mean I have spoken on it before, but when I was with ASU. I really admired the Big Blue fans as far as how they filled up the arena, and honestly, my first thought when I walked in there, we showed up the night before and I was like ‘oh my gosh, this is huge.’ So taking in the moment and being able to participate in this event with these wonderful women, it’s just awesome, but with what Amanda (Paschal) said, we have to get shots up early. You know, depth perception is always different when you are in such a big arena like that, but I’m super excited, I loved playing there, it was awesome.”
On what you know about Louisville…
“Well, we know they are a really tough team and they are a really well-coached team, so we got to be locked in. We’re excited to play them, a good ole rivalry, so that’s always fun.”
#12 Amanda Paschal, R-Sr., G
On her game and what she needs to improve on …
“For me, right now, I am not taking enough shots. But I do everything else. I rebound and get my teammates the ball and play defense.”
On difference between Rupp Arena and Memorial Coliseum …
“I would just say the environment. It is much bigger than Memorial and the goals are different. We are going to go there early and get some shots up and just try to play around the rims a little bit and just get used to those rims.”