Saturday, March 4, 2023

Greenville, South Carolina, USA

Bon Secours Wellness Enviornment

Kentucky Wildcats

Coach Kyra Elzy

Robyn Benton

Blair Inexperienced

Postgame Press Convention

Tennessee 80, Kentucky 71

THE MODERATOR: We’re right here with Coach Kyra Elzy, Robyn Benton, and Blair Inexperienced. Questions for our scholar athletes.

Q. Blair, you’re from Kentucky. Discuss what this chance has meant for you?

BLAIR GREEN: Actually, it’s superb. It’s the time that I’ll cherish all my life, simply trying again in any respect the superb reminiscences that I’ve obtained to make with my teammates and my coaches and the love they poured into me and making me a greater particular person immediately and being ready for no matter I’ve subsequent within the subsequent chapter.

Most likely a few of the greatest reminiscences I’ll ever have in my life and the sisterhood I’ve created over this time, however it’s challenged me and introduced out the very best in me and made me robust and resilient for the longer term.

Q. Extra of an announcement, however you guys, each single recreation have come out and competed, from bounce ball to the buzzer. Regardless of should you had been down 20 or up 20, and simply the resiliency of this workforce and y’all’s play. Your fierce aggressive spirit, and I wish to say thanks for giving us the chance to cowl you guys.

Q. Robyn, from a switch’s perspective, are you able to focus on your few years right here at Kentucky and what they meant to you?

ROBYN BENTON: It meant the whole lot to me. We gained this final yr so I really feel like I made the precise resolution to return to Kentucky. Massive Blue Nation, they embraced me and liked me after I was searching for a house out of the portal.

Q. I do know this has been a troublesome season mentally. How does it really feel to finish on this observe? I do know clearly a loss, however a run on this event.

BLAIR GREEN: I’m happy with my workforce coming in right here. We may have simply died down and been the 14th seed and laid it down and simply had like what everybody anticipated. We type of made historical past with being the 14th seed that gained the primary two video games, so I’m happy with that and I’m happy with going out with what I knew we may do.

I want it will have been earlier and we may have made that assertion a very long time in the past, however we went out preventing and that’s all you possibly can ask for.

Q. Blair and Robyn, you guys had been two of the 5 returners this season. What do you suppose was completely different about this workforce this yr and what was fulfilling about this squad?

ROBYN BENTON: You understand, it was ten new folks, so I obtained a chance to know ten new faces. We bonded. We laughed. We cried. I gotta give it to them. Like Blair stated, we may have laid it down however they caught with it.

Q. I hoped you could possibly speak concerning the fourth quarter. Virtually coming again, what was going via your head? What had been you feeling at that second?

BLAIR GREEN: I feel at that second, I imply, we lower it right down to a reasonably shut recreation. That might have been the final quarter we ever performed in our life, so simply laying all of it out and simply figuring out that we gave it our all and poured all of it.

The result is what it’s, however so long as we laid all of it on the market, that’s all we are able to do.

ROBYN BENTON: We got here actually shut, and in my thoughts, I’m fairly positive all people else’s thoughts, we had been considering win. We weren’t considering, let’s hold on, we had been considering, let’s win this recreation.

Q. Coach, are you able to communicate to your switch class this yr? So many unimaginable gamers from this convention. What have they meant to this workforce?

COACH ELZY: This switch class was massive for us, beginning with Addie. Advised her within the locker room, after we wanted a high-energy participant, blue collar, keen to promote it out on the ground, she introduced us a management we would have liked.

She wasn’t afraid to say the exhausting issues, and it’s precisely what we would have liked, plus excessive character.

You concentrate on Maddie Scherr, a Kentucky lady that got here dwelling and never solely did she present up, however she confirmed out this yr. I feel she confirmed why she is the participant that she is.

After which you will have Ajae Petty and Eniya, and in the course of the course of the season they’ve made some massive performs we would have liked them. However we would have liked a buffer in between the freshmen, so we had the 5 returners, after which I feel the switch gamers had been our buffer with a view to get our six freshmen prepared.

So that they had been enormous for us.

Q. Coach, each participant is vital, and we all know for lots of gamers who come from Kentucky and play for Kentucky it means just a little additional extra. When you will have somebody like Blair who made an affect on this program, what have you ever seen from her, nearly her management with this program?

COACH ELZY: I like all of our seniors. It’s at all times the toughest second, all people at all times asks as a coach, is it Senior Day? Senior Day in my thoughts you continue to have extra video games left to play. It’s when it’s the finality of it like immediately going into the locker room, that is the exhausting half. Since you develop a bond with them. You like ’em. You’ve been within the trenches with them, and this group believed in Kentucky.

Robyn Benton a switch, however we don’t win an SEC championship with out her. I’ve spoke about Addie and what she introduced, and I obtained choked up within the locker room speaking about Blair Inexperienced.

It was like yesterday Coach Mitchell and I had been at her dwelling go to and he or she stated sure to Kentucky. That was massive for us, as a result of at the moment it was a troublesome time and he or she selected us. What she did to signify the state and her work ethic, her excessive character, without end grateful for her loyalty and love for Kentucky girls’s basketball.

Q. Coach, clearly this season was a very completely different search for your squad. What do you’re feeling you realized from this season and what are you happy with about this workforce?

COACH ELZY: To place it mildly, it was a special look with ten new gamers, however, , it was a troublesome season. That’s what it was, it was very robust.

However what I like about this workforce is their resiliency. Attempting to place ten new gamers with the addition of the 5 returners, , it was quite a bit!

However I feel we confirmed down the stretch that should you stay robust and have the precise mentality, you possibly can overcome adversity. We had been in a variety of video games this yr that might have gone the opposite means, however this workforce by no means stop. They got here to follow to work. They competed in video games.

We discovered a technique to keep in, however what we realized is, , we’ve got to remain collectively, proceed to work, and the usual is at all times going to be the usual. Once we do the issues we have to do our future is actually brilliant, and I feel we’ve got momentum going into the spring follow.

Q. Are you able to talk about subsequent yr, the longer term, what within the low season that you really want this workforce to get higher at and if there’s something as a coach you wish to get higher at?

COACH ELZY: As a coach you at all times wish to get higher, and I’ve a pocket book of issues that I wish to get higher at. When you find yourself on this seat it doesn’t include an instruction e book so that you encompass your self with an incredible coaches, so I’ve an unbelievable employees, and I’ve Coach Gail Goestenkors as a mentor and Coach Mitchell, together with so many others. However for me, managing a bunch of 15, I underestimated how many individuals that basically is that want your time, after which simply ensuring I’m focusing and getting higher in basketball and ensuring we’re taking part in to our power.

So far as this workforce, psychological toughness, we’re going to work on that every one summer time lengthy, together with studying the protection and scoring, and we’re going to put our hat on the defensive finish so nothing adjustments there. We’ve simply obtained to proceed to get higher.

One factor we’re going to deal with. Kentucky is used to successful and that’s what we wish to do. 14th isn’t the place we wish to be, and we gained’t be right here once more. So we obtained return and reevaluate however that’s one thing that will probably be on our minds all spring and preseason as we put together.

Q. Coach, I requested you on Wednesday about BBN popping out to help, they usually had been right here and continued to indicate up. We noticed it on social media, and also you see it in and round when you find yourself on the street. Your message to the neighborhood that’s continued to help even in the course of the robust season.

COACH ELZY: I’d to thank Massive Blue Nation for all of your help. They had been superb all yr, even via the dangerous. So for that we’re without end grateful and inform ’em to return again subsequent season. You’ll just like the product that we’ve got on the ground, however we’re without end grateful on your love for this program so thanks BBN! You’re the very best!

Q. Do you suppose that these final two conferences of actually unimaginable story traces — how do you’re feeling like which will assist recruiting, portal, do you suppose it impacts it in any respect?

COACH ELZY: Our final two wins?

Q. And likewise final yr’s win.

COACH ELZY: Successful does assist recruiting. Successful helps recruiting, however, , we’re going to get out on the paths, hunt down gamers that match our system, and construct relationships with them. The model itself sells in order that’s nice and we’ve got an incredible employees that’s going to get out and ensure we’ve got the precise gamers to suit our program to maneuver it ahead to the place we wish to be.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports activities