Everything Tennessee WBB head coach Kim Caldwell said after loss to South Carolina

Tennessee head women’s basketball coach Kim Caldwell spoke to the media following the team’s 70-63 loss to South Carolina on Monday. Here’s everything she had to say.

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Opening statement

“Yeah, that’s a really good basketball team – a team that does not make a lot of mistakes. I think we made way too many against them tonight, and they capitalized off every single one of them.”

On what makes it difficult to come back against South Carolina

“I think it does start with their defense. They did such a good job of making us take bad shots. As a coach, you just get so frustrated because you’re just taking bad shot after bad shot. Part of it is us just not being disciplined enough, but a lot of it is them just getting us to take those shots. And then, they scored off every single one of them. That’s when they put their run together, and we couldn’t really make a comeback until we wore them down in the fourth (quarter).”

On the reception Caldwell received from Tennessee fans after walking onto the court

“I definitely wasn’t expecting it. I try to sneak in. That’s why I sneak in the back – always try to go unnoticed. But it made it worth it. It made coming back worth it.”

On getting Tennessee’s offense off to faster starts

“I think we just need to do a better job of running transition consistently. It is harder to run when you’re not going to get your shots because the other team isn’t worn down. But just running in transition, especially against a team like that, our best offense would have been transition. So, just doing it quicker.”

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On Caldwell’s message to Tennessee’s players after the game

“I think we’re still trying to get over the hump. It’s seven points against one of the best teams in the country. I thought our rebounding was good – I was really proud of that. But just finding the little plays that can drive you crazy – late shot clock fouls at the rim, and-ones, just little things right there that add up – that we have to continue to try to learn from. Especially against a team like this, you can’t have those.”

On what Caldwell wants Talaysia Cooper to improve upon

“Shot selection. Just working a little bit harder to get better shots, being more patient in our offense.”

On how Tennessee’s players handled South Carolina’s physicality

“It’s a great question. I’ll know probably more when I get home. I appreciate the team; I appreciate my staff. It’s hard for me to yell. I can move around okay, but (it’s) hard for me to yell. So, just having the players repeat things, having my staff repeat things, having them be able to just go up and call some plays when I need to sit – it’s big when you have people around you can trust.”

On how Zee Spearman’s early fouls changed Tennessee’s game plan

“It’s big; it’s tough when it’s our bigs, especially. So, just making sure that we continue to try to work on that, clean those up, just be a little bit smarter.”

On whether Caldwell will take a “bye week” after giving birth

“I love this team. I ask a lot from them, so I’m going to give them everything I have.”

On Kaniya Boyd’s performance

“I thought she was the best player for us on the floor tonight – she played hard on defense. She went and got offensive rebounds; she was making things happen. She took good shots; she was all over the place. It was big for us.”

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