On how emotional the day was and how much she appreciates Kasiyahna Kushkituah, Rennia Davis, and Jaiden McCoy:
“Let me start with saying that it is not an emotional day for me at all, because we have so much basketball left ahead of us. If this were their last game, I would be a wreck right now, just to be quite honest with you. I love them, and I just keep telling myself we’re not to that point yet. I will shed tears at some point, just not yet. I’ll go ahead and speak to that. Obviously, like you said, Jaiden was the first to say yes, and to be able to come in, not knowing what it will look like, and I was so happy for her that it worked out where she could finish her career at home. That’s really special, and not many people have an opportunity to do that. When we got to campus after I was first hired, you have your meetings and you don’t know where you’re going to be, but it was really easy to know where both Kasi and Rennia stood, and how much they loved this program, and how much they love being at the University of Tennessee. That, to me, is one big reason that they stayed, and I’m very grateful to them that they believed in our staff and our vision for their final years here, and that it could be something really special. They’ve been awesome. They’ve been coachable. We’ve seen them through ups and downs, being able to grow as young women, and it just makes you smile. It really does, and I’m so happy to have been part of this journey with them.”
NEXT: Kellie Harper postgame continued