Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
February 19, 2010 | Cowgirl Basketball
Feb. 19, 2010
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OSU Head Coach Kurt Budke
On the game
“A&M is a very good team. They are a very good team when they hit jump shots. We wanted to force them to shoot 16-, 17- foot jump shots and they hit them tonight. Give them credit. They are a very good team when their shots go in. I thought they came out and played with a lot of intensity tonight. I thought our kids played hard. We just didn't hit any shots early. I was really, really pleased with the second half and how we played.”
On the losing streak
“We're obviously in a little bit of a slump, or whatever you want to call it right now, but we're there and we've got to find a way to get out it.”
“We've got a lot of new players. I think some of the young ones and even the JC kids have never had to play this hard for this long. I think they've hit a little wall here and instead of busting through it, they're bouncing off it. As I say that, the practices have been very good and they've identified that we're struggling right now and they've picked the pace up again. If we continue to practice like we've practiced, we'll get out of this.”
On Toni Young
“I think Toni Young's going to be a star. She still is learning the game right now. She still doesn't understand the game right now. She's still physically not as close to where she's going to be. I'm not so sure Toni Young's not the leader of this team. This thing is a roller coaster all year long. You're looking for those people that can stay [level] all year long and that's Toni. Toni is great with her teammates on and off the floor and she's going to be a leader, a captain and a star for years to come. Can you imagine that kid as a senior and where she'll be? Toni has really stepped up her game for us and I'm very proud of her.”
Cowgirl forward Tegan Cunningham
On OSU's rough start and the second half improvement
“Honestly, I'm really proud of all of our young players that stepped in. The second half was a great half, I feel. Obviously, we would have liked to get the win. We've got to learn from it and we've got Baylor on Saturday. It's a crucial time for our team. Like coach has said many times, it's gut check time. We've got to bounce back from these losses and get the win on Saturday.”
On their struggles shooting and A&M's hot shooting
“They shot really well. We didn't expect them to make all the shots they made. Our game plan was to allow them to shoot that elbow jumper which they hit every time. Sometimes, teams are hot. We couldn't feel it for a while. It's just part of the game, you've got to bounce back and find other ways to score. We did that at times. We just couldn't execute enough.”
Cowgirl forward Toni Young
On A&M's shooting
“We wanted them to take those shots, but we didn't expect them to be so hot coming out in the beginning. We had to adjust faster than we did and we didn't adjust until later in the second half.”
On her game tonight
“Coach told me we needed some people off the bench. With everyone not having the hot hand today, somebody had to step up and play. Coach told me I needed to play like a sophomore and not a freshman anymore. I haven't been a freshman since the beginning of the year. Now, I need to play better.”
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement
“I still believe the three best arenas in this league are Reed Arena, the arena here and at Kansas. It just makes you think of basketball when the game is tossed up, the crowd is good and you're playing at a high level.”
On Oklahoma State
“We caught Oklahoma State on not a good night. Coach Budke will have them ready to go and playing a lot better, particularly (Andrea) Riley. I thought we did a great job on her by not putting her on the free throw line. When she makes those drive a lot of times she gets an and one.”
On Tyra White
“Tyra (White) is a shooter, and she made some great shots. I thought that was the key to the ballgame; we dissected the zone and moved the ball around by reversing it and our outside shooters did a good job.”
Tanisha Smith
On Playing Defense
“In the game at College Station we didn't get after them on defense in the second half. We were up by 14 points and thought we had the game won. This game we kept playing defense no matter what we were up by limiting Riley and Cunningham's touches.”
On Shooting the Ball
“I was taking what they were giving me. If they were giving me the shot, I was going to take it. I don't care if I was missing, I was still going to take that shot.”
