Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Meet The Media
October 15, 2013 | Cowgirl Basketball
Oct. 15, 2013
Head Coach Jim Littell
Opening Statement
“We're very excited about this season. We are returning four starters off of the team that went 22-11 and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. I really feel that we were a team that was playing very well at the end of the year last year and hopefully that will carry over. We've added depth to our program and as Tiffany (Bias) said, I believe one of our strengths is our chemistry. This is a very tight-knit group and they get along with each other both on and off the floor. I believe another strength we have is the added depth and the experience of returning four starters. As always, the Big 12 is going to be a difficult league to play in and we're very optimistic about the season.”
On freshmen that are expected to contribute early in the season
“Roshunda Johnson comes from Parkview High School in Little Rock, Ark., and she is a top 50 player in the country. She will play at both point guard and off guard for us and she's very talented. Katelyn Loecker was a two-time Kansas player of the year and has been very successful. She won the state championship her junior year and finished second her senior year. Lakota Beatty from Anadarko, Okla., was the Gatorade Player of the Year and Miss Basketball in Oklahoma. So we feel like those three will make significant contributions early. Brittany Atkins, who is a redshirt freshman, is coming back strong from knee surgery. We feel all four of those will come out strong from the get go.”
On replacing Toni Young
“ That's where we're trying to find our identity right now. When you're a first round pick then you're a real talent. The thing that Toni gave us was that we had the ability to pitch the ball to her late in the shot clock and she could create her own shot. What we have to have is good solid play out of LaShawn Jones and Marisha Wallace. They have to come in and do what they're capable of doing and then we have to find a different way to make up for Toni's points and rebounds. Not one person is going to do it so we have to do it collectively. We have to find a way to get Brittney Martin four more points a game and Tiffany Bias four more points a game. We're going to have to pick up that slack collectively.”
On Liz Donohoe
“Liz has been really great for us the past two years. She has gone through some stretches in her freshman and sophomore year where she hits five or six games skids where she struggled a little bit. We want her to grow in that and be a little more consistent throughout. She put up excellent numbers her first two years and she has that capability that every time she shoots the ball you feel like it's going on and that's a good feeling.”
On the coaches' poll
“To be honest, I didn't put much thought in it at all. I know where we're at as a team and where we're trying to get people at. I'm not too concerned about the preseason polls I'm more concerned about where we will finish in the end and getting into the tournament.”
Guard Tiffany Bias
On being a senior
“I cannot believe it is my senior year. I feel like I have been here forever and I am kind of sad that it's coming so quick to an end but I am excited for this season to start.”
On general expectations going into this season
“I think personally playing under control and being consistent so I can lead my team to the way I know how. As a team, I think we have big goals. We want to win the Big 12 championship and then see where that takes us. I think we can have a deep run in the tournament.”
On how her game has evolved over the year
“I really have tried to slow down. I think that I have trying to be more consistent. I have been trying to lead more vocally and lead my team in a way that I haven't before.”
On the team's strengths this year
“I think our strengths are our team chemistry and our athleticism. I think we are very athletic this year and have a full bench that can all play.”
On her areas of improvement
“I worked on my shot a lot and my consistency. I really worked on my midrange.”
On the run in the NCAATournament as a motivation tool
“I think it helped a lot. The last loss that we had in the tournament left a bad taste in our mouth and made us hungry for this year. It helped us to work harder in the off season and push ourselves a lot harder than we ever have before.”
On the challenges to win the Big 12 championship
“I think every team is going to be good this year in the Big 12. I think a lot of people have a lot of returners returning. I think that it's anybody's to win so I think we're ready and that we can take it.”
