Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State vs. James Madison Postgame Quotes
March 31, 2012 | Cowgirl Basketball
March 31, 2012
Oklahoma State Head Coach Jim Littell
Opening Statement
"I'm so proud of this group, (and) what they've accomplished this year. When you're talking in terms of the heart, it's been a long tough year. When you're talking in terms of basketball, this group has accomplished so much, and gotten so much better. They were exciting to watch. The stretch in the WNIT has done so much for this program: the confidence level, allowing a young group to continue to play, a chance to build our fanbase. I'll be honest with you. Coach Budke, Coach Serna, the Branstetters, my dad have been on my mind a lot. As I said out there, our group decided in November that we were going to pay honor, and I don't think that there's anyquestion that these ladies paid honor and did things right."
On watching Shelley Budke cut down the nets
"We wouldn't have had it any other way. She's been a rock for us, the way she's come to the games, supported the Cowgirls, and been there for these kids, and been there for the coaches. I commend her for that. I don't know how she's done it sometimes, the way she's done it. I've known her for a long time. She played for me and (she is) just a special lady and we love her to death."
On playing this season after the tragedy
"It was hard, but the kids wanted to represent and do the right thing. It would have been awfully easy for this team to just say 'We'll just start next year' or 'We've had a rough year, and things have gone wrong, and we'll just start next year,' but they didn't do that. It tells a great deal about the character of the two people beside me (Tiffany Bias and Toni Young) and our whole locker room."
On James Madison
"Let's give James Madison some credit. They are a very good team. Any team that wins 29 games, regardless of where they play, you've got a ball club. They've got a lot of talented people that were hard for us to guard. Hats off to them because they're very talented...It's a well coached team that plays extremely hard."
On the meaning of this win compared to his national championship at the junior college level:
"I was fortunate enough to have the players to go 38-0, but we did it a tougher way this time. Until we won the last three conference games, there were a lot of people that thought come March 7th, we may be mowing the yard or doing something like that. These kids wouldn't quit. They were just saying 'Hey, we're not ready for our year to be over.' "
Tiffany Bias
On winning WNIT
"It's a feeling that words can't describe. It's hard to explain. There's so many emotions going through your head. You're just happy. You have a smile on your face because you know you've done it for a team and our whole community."
On Coaches Budke and Serna
"They're always on our minds and in the back of our head just always being there. I think they were really watching us today. It showed out there on the floor that they were both on our minds today."
On the crowd
"The support was great, and we knew that our community was going to be behind us 100 percent. We've gotten bids to stay at home this whole time. We were really excited and just thrilled to play in front of everybody and just show what we can do."
On Travis Ford's ticket purchase
"I wasn't surprised. Travis Ford has been there for us the whole time through everything. He's a very generous man, and we couldn't be more thankful for him and whoever else donated tickets for more students to come. We're very appreciative of him."
On the season
"It was a roller coaster. When we were sad, we were sad. When we were happy, we were happy. I think we all went through that. It was a tough spot, but we're getting through it as a team and as one."
Toni Young
On winning the WNIT
"We set out to accomplish a goal at the beginning of the year, and after everything we've been through, it feels great to win our last game. A lot of teams don't get to win their last game. Coming off on a win and being able to honor our coaches feels great."
On Shelley Budke cutting down net
"It's really emotional. This will be my third year knowing her and every game we would be seeing her in the stands cheering for us. For her to be able to cut that net down and still see a smile on her face means a lot to us."
On the crowd
"It was exciting because we saw the line an hour before. They were people outside waiting, and we never see that at games. To see that the numbers are increasing by a thousand is really exciting. If we can get them to come back next year, we'll get more used to playing in front of a lot of people. I was nervous, but I get nervous before every game. Seeing all those people out there made me nervous, but it was exciting to know that they were there for us."
On the season
"It was pretty tough, but having the support of the team and our community behind us, it helped a lot. We got through it all together as one. We stuck together this whole season. We're getting stronger and still growing together."
James Madison Head Coach Kenny Brooks
Opening statement
"I thought it was a hard-fought game. I thought both teams played hard. I thought (OSU) played better than we did for longer stretches, therefore, when you come to a venue like this and a situation a like this, you can't have lulls. We had some lulls, and I thought that was the big difference, but give them credit. (Toni) Young is probably the best center we've played against all year. She was tremendous inside and athletic, and (Tiffany) Bias was probably the best point guard we've played against all year. Those two I thought were the biggest factors, and we just couldn't contain them when we needed to. That group, they've done a very special thing for this program at Oklahoma State and we tip our hat to them. We just didn't have our best game."
On the last play of the first half
"(It was) a big momentum play. We were down seven, we ran a play and got the shot we wanted, it was just probably two seconds earlier than we wanted it. Everything else had to happen: she missed it in a way that they got the rebound pretty quickly and in rhythm, came down and scored the layup with their athleticism. Instead of being down possibly four at that point, we went into the locker room down nine. In the first minute and a half of the second half, they went on a tear, which really built a big hole for us. We were forced at that point to dig ourselves out, and we did to a certain degree, we just didn't have enough energy down the stretch. It was good. We'll learn from this whole situation, but we just didn't play well enough to win the basketball game."
On if he felt like the deck was stacked against his team
"In more ways than one. Anytime you come into a venue like this, there's a lot of emotion. We understood that coming into the game. We understood the big story and what these kids would be playing for. We knew it was going to be tough. I felt like there were a few shots that normally fall for us, a few plays that we normally make and it just didn't happen for us. For whatever reason it didn't, but they made those plays and we give them credit for it."
