Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. UTA
March 21, 2009 | Cowgirl Basketball
OSU Head Coach Kurt Budke
“This win wasn't for the players or for the coaches, it was for our fans. We've struggled at home this year and we really wanted to get one for the fans. We really appreciate the people who come out here on a Saturday afternoon with all the basketball that's on TV they could have stayed home. But we have a very dedicated group of core fans that came out and supported us and we really appreciated that.”
“I feel like we are playing our best basketball of the season. If you go back to that Baylor game, we played them better than anyone else did in the Big 12 and we still feel like we should have won that.”
”We are pretty confident right now and it's the best offensively we've played all year long. Shaunte' Smith is finishing the year really strong, I think she had a career high today. We kept going to her and she kept delivering. I thought Andrea (Riley) did a good job of running the show today. She shot 50 percent, seven assists and handled the ball well under pressure.”
Senior forward Shaunte' Smith
“It was good. We had a good crowd and there was a lot of energy. We just wanted to give the fans a win because they've been supporting us even when we went 1-7 in the Big 12. It was good to get a win for them and myself and my teammates.”
Junior guard Andrea Riley
“We can win this NIT all we have to do is take it one game at a time. And our seniors can get a ring on their way out.”
“We have been struggling a little bit from the 3-point line the past few games. Three pointers give you momentum and confidence to take other shots.”
UTA Head Coach Samantha Morrow
On the game
“I think, the first half, we dug ourselves a big hole. We gave up six 3-pointers, that was huge. We cut it down to six and we felt good about it. Then we made a couple of defensive mistakes and they capitalized on them. Obviously, their bench is a lot deeper than ours. I think that hurt, I mean, you have two of our players (Candice Champion and Tamara Simmons) that played 40 minutes each sitting right here. I'm pleased with the effort; I can't complain about that. We made some mistakes.”
On Oklahoma State
“We watched Oklahoma State and they may have had some ups and downs throughout the year, but the last couple games they've been playing well. They're an excellent team.”
On the game plan against Andrea Riley
“Force her left, force her left, force her left. We had some different schemes, we were going to set some screens, some things we were going to do on her. Don't foul her when she gets in the paint, but we didn't do that very well. We did foul her some. Obviously, we know she can shoot the three, but she can just do so many things when she gets in the paint. We really didn't want her to get to the free throw line 11 times, and she did.”
Senior Forward Candice Champion
On her play
“I tried to play hard, and, whether we won or lost, I just wanted to give it my all, and that's what I tried to do.”
Sophomore Guard Tamara Simmons
On her play
“Going into the game, I knew me, myself personally, and my teammates were relaxed, very calm. We just wanted to go out and have fun. My coaches were like, ‘You need to shoot.' So that's what I went out there and I did. I felt like I needed to shoot to keep us in the game and so that's what I did.”
