Tennessee women’s basketball delivered a dominant performance Thursday night, defeating Middle Tennessee State 110-64 in the Lady Vols’ fourth game of the season.
The 46-point victory marked Tennessee’s largest margin of victory in the series against Middle Tennessee State.
The Lady Vols established control early, showing improvement in offensive spacing, ball movement, free-throw shooting and defensive pressure. Kaylene Smikle continued her impressive start to the season with another 30-point performance.
Following the victory, Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell, Smikle, and Fats Janneh met with reporters to discuss the team’s response to a short turnaround, its defensive intensity, and the continued development of several players.
Here’s what they had to say.
Kim Caldwell | Head Coach
Opening statement:
“They fixed their offensive spacing. They finished really well. Our foul shooting was significantly better. Our ball pressure was better. They shared the ball consistently throughout the whole game. Overall, I was really, really impressed with what they did.”
On Aaliyah Moore’s injury:
“Yeah, she hurt her calf, and we just didn’t feel like it was worth putting her back in the game. So it’s just something we’re gonna have to treat tomorrow.”
On a Harissoum “Harry” Coulibaly growing comfort within the system:
“That’s who Harry is, and it was really great to see her be more comfortable on the floor tonight. And I think she’s going to continue to grow and grow, and she’s been showing a little bit in games.
“We have a few players that are still trying to figure it out, and we’re again a new team, and that’s going to take some time. But I think our team was really happy for her tonight because that’s who she is. That’s why we recruited her.”
On Gabby Minus’ consistency through four games:
“No, it doesn’t. It’s because she’s consistent every single day, and just to talk about her, she didn’t shoot very well from the foul line the game before, and guess what? She was in the gym. She was shooting foul shots. She wants to fix it. She wants to get it right.
“She’s going to ask questions. She plays and moves every single day with a sense of urgency to make sure she does things the right way and understands and grows and gets better. She has a very high ceiling.”
On Tennessee’s defensive pressure and ability to force turnovers:
“I think one thing that KK always says to her team is five people have to rotate together. We all have to rotate together, and tonight was the best we looked at everyone rotating together.
“We didn’t have one person step behind when we were ready to go, and they were eager to get the steal, and that was fun to see. They knew they could get in, and they could feel that pressure.
“From the start of the game, I think the reason we had a good start is because they pressured from the very beginning.”
On Smikle’s offensive efficiency and overall impact:
“Yeah, I think to her point, we knew we were getting a player, and she still, too, I think, has a really high ceiling. She’s not going to be perfect every single night. But this is consistently who she is.
“She shoots the ball very well, and I think she was underrated a little bit in her shooting ability. She has a great shot. She can get to the rim.
“What impresses me so much about her is not her efficiency, not the way she scores the ball, but the way she defends. She pressures the ball. She’s active. She flies around. She wants to go get steals.
“But when she can kind of go on a hot streak offensively, when she continues to climb, she makes the right plays. That’s why she’s efficient. She makes the right plays. She shares the ball. She has good teammates around her.”
On Tennessee’s response following a short turnaround:
“I think that’s just they want to get it right, and I think that I was really impressed with their response on a short turnaround.
“They had a long day yesterday. It wasn’t necessarily a grueling day on the floor, but we watched a big chunk of time on our game from the floor, and then we had to learn a scout, and then they had to lock back in today and get through what we couldn’t get through.
“That’s not an easy team to scout for, and so they did a really good job. That was our first one-day prep.”
On preparing for Belmont:
“We’ll be off tomorrow, and then we’ll get back in on Saturday, and we’ll watch this game, and then we’ll continue on Belmont prep.”
On a player’s rebounding contribution:
“Her six offensive rebounds is a great number for her, and we knew she could do that. And to see her be able to do that was great.
“Again, she’s another player where she missed the summer and she’s just now getting back into the flow. You’re just going to see her continue to get better and better.”
On Tennessee’s two incoming signees:
“One thing that we’re really excited about, I know they came out yesterday, and we haven’t been allowed to talk about our two signing class players.
“These two were a big part of it. Our whole team was a really big part of recruiting Amaya and Maisie, two top-35 kids.
“I think they will both be players that you guys will love to watch. Our fans will love to watch as much as you guys love Gabby and the two that are up here and how hard we play.
“Those two fit that mold. They’re great people. They believed in themselves. They wanted to be a Lady Vol, and we’re happy to welcome them to the family.”
Kaylene Smikle | Guard
On Tennessee’s emphasis on starting strong:
“We knew coming into this game that we wanted to have a good start. We knew that starting the game strong was going to keep the momentum going the whole game, and I thought we did a really good job of doing that.”
On her offensive efficiency through four games:
“I mean, I’ve been efficient my whole entire career. I mean, Tennessee, you play in transition, so I guess, I mean, I’m a transition player, so I guess I flow better easily, but I think I’ve been efficient my entire career.”
On a Harry becoming more comfortable in Tennessee’s system:
“I don’t think anything that I’m seeing now is a shock. She’s a great player. She’s very fast to get downhill. I mean, she’s a hard person to guard. I just think it’s her just becoming more comfortable in the system.”
Fats Janneh | Forward
On playing aggressively while limiting fouls:
“I try most games. I try not to foul.”
On her preseason prediction that Smikle would win SEC Player of the Year:
“I still stand. Like I told you, she’s going to be SEC Player of the Year.”
Tennessee will next turn its attention to Belmont, with Caldwell emphasizing continued film study and preparation as the Lady Vols look to build on their performance against Middle Tennessee State.
