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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 6, 2014Jaterra BondsAmanda ButlerKayla LewisDULUTH, GEORGIA Florida – 71 THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with an opening comment from coach and the student‑athletes. COACH BUTLER: A great win. Mississippi State is just a really tough team to play against. Vic does a fantastic job. His kids always play hard. I'm just proud of mine for the battle and resilience they showed, never doubting, even when we gave the lead up, to just bounce back, trust their teammates, their coaches and the process. But really, really strong victory today, for sure. THE MODERATOR: Jaterra. JATERRA BONDS: I think it's good preparation for our next game. THE MODERATOR: Kayla. KAYLA LEWIS: Just like coach said, it's good for us to be in this tournament and take one game at a time. Mississippi State is a good team. They have good players, players that are all SEC. Fouls were called that kept people out on both sides. It was nice to survive and win. THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. Coach, talk about Kayla's performance. COACH BUTLER: I think that Kayla's athleticism is what you see because that's the most obvious thing. That's much more about Kayla's desire, the plays that she made. That's what makes me proud of those numbers. It's not can she jump higher than someone or is she stronger than someone? It's about, I'm not going to be denied, I'm not going to let you score on this. It comes from a positive, team‑oriented place. Q. What adjustments did you make when Mississippi State made the late run? COACH BUTLER: The biggest thing was to calm down. Guys, we're fine. We're doing things that we weren't doing earlier. Why are we doing that? What makes us good? What got us the lead? Let's do that stuff. There's other stuff we're doing right now that's not working so well. Our leaders, upperclassmen, showed great composure, even though they were guilty of some of those mistakes. Collectively we did a good job of getting back to this is the way we need to play, these are the things that make us a good team, these are things that aren't, so let's leave them on the bench. Q. What were your thoughts when Mississippi State had taken the lead? KAYLA LEWIS: Well, in this league, everybody is good, everybody is going to make a run. You have to be able to weather the storm, that's what we did. Cassie hit that three‑pointer giving us five straight points at the end. Putting us back up by one. Just having the mindset of okay, they're going to be making a run and we just have to answer. JATERRA BONDS: I just tried to tell everybody in the huddle to stay composed, they were going to keep penetrating and get it in. Everybody is going to make their runs, but you have to come back and answer. We made some silly turnovers, I know I was guilty for four of them, in the second half. Just to be able to bounce back and stay composed together at the end. Q. Coach, your thoughts on playing Kentucky for a third time? COACH BUTLER: We're playing Kentucky. I think at this point, how many times we've played them or what those previous outcomes were just really aren't a factor. That's one of the things we talked about coming into this tournament, we want to be really, really fresh. It should be reflected in our energy and our outlook on whoever our opponents are going to be. We know it will be a great contest. Again, one of the best teams not just in the league but in the country. Another fantastic opportunity for us. Q. They have the tournament projections out there. Is it tough for you or your team to ignore that stuff, the NCAA tournament projections? COACH BUTLER: You know, we're in the SEC tournament right now. I don't think it's hard. That's one of the things I really trust about our team, is our leadership. They're going to drive the conversations that we're having in the hotel or in the locker room. The NCAA tournament, we'll get worried about that when we're in the NCAA tournament. I don't think there's any question we're in the NCAA tournament. I just think it's fun for outside people to talk about that and project, do all that sort of thing. We're in the SEC tournament right now. That's the only thing our team is worried about. I think it's one of the things special about this group, is they've had a really, really razor‑like focus on what's important. What's important right now is Kentucky, and that's it. Q. Coach, how does this rate in terms of birthday presents you've received? COACH BUTLER: Best ever. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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