Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. UTPA Postgame Quotes
December 29, 2013 | Cowgirl Basketball
Dec. 29, 2013
OSU Head Coach Jim Littell
Opening Statement
“This game was kind of a tale of two halves. I wasn't very pleased with our intensity or focus in the first half. It looked like we still had some of the Christmas turkey in us and we looked pretty sluggish on things. To be honest, we hadn't really practiced the way we wanted to. At halftime we had a little visit on how we need to come out and play. In the second half, I was pretty pleased. We shot 58 percent in the second half and had good ball movement. As poorly as we played in the first half, I thought we looked that much better in the second. It kind of gave our fans a little glimpse of what we're capable of. I was very pleased with the crowd today – I thought it was a great turnout. Not only in numbers, but they were a vocal crowd as well. We did some things that they could get some excitement out of in the second half.”
On Katelyn Loecker's game
“You know, she always plays hard. She struggled a little bit with her shot, and we told her, 'Go find a different way to get it done. Go concentrate on offensive rebounding and put backs. If you can't get the put back, save it and keep it alive for somebody else. Until you get your shot in order, that's the way you can get hustle baskets, points, and create things for us.' I thought she really took that to heart. Her effort on the glass was tremendous.”
On the effect of the wins against Michigan State and Georgia Tech
“We were challenged in both of those games, and we were challenged in different ways. We came out against Michigan State and led 7-2, and then we were outscored 22- 0 and we were looking at a 24-7 deficit. We'd never been in that situation. Brittany Atkins came in and hit a three and kind of sparked us. We cut the lead to three at half, and took the lead in the second half and then fell behind by eight again. I think it's important you learn to play behind some. That game will help us later down the road, because in this league, things aren't going to go your way every night you have got to grind some games out and battle through some adversity. Georgia Tech was a team that was as about as athletic as anybody we'll play. They had Antonio Davis' daughter, who was ranked the second-best freshman in the country. They just brought a lot of speed and athleticism. We got a lot of experience playing against a full-court press for 40 minutes. I thought that was good. We saw some things that we hadn't seen. We had to adjust to it—the kids had to adjust on the fly. That's a positive that will help you later down the road.”
On his concern following the 8-0 run from Texas Pan-American to finish the first half
“I don't know how concerned I was. I was pretty aggravated. We came down—had some bad possessions and then we'd foul or lunge in defensively. There weren't a lot of positive things that came out of the first half. But give our kids credit, we came out in the second half and played a lot harder. It was good that we were able to get some younger players some minutes. That's going to help us later down the road.
Center LaShawn Jones
On what adjustments they made in the second half
“We had to find a way to move the ball more and get the ball inside because that's what coach really stressed when we went to halftime. So that's what we really wanted to focus on along with boxing out and more offensive rebounds.”
On what the wins in Puerto Rico meant to the team
“It really made us more confident in ourselves and how we play. We rely on each other a lot on defense and offense and it showed how good we can be in the Big 12."
On what adjustments she made for the second half
“Coach got onto me at half time and told me to start posting up so that's what I had to do for us to get more points. That's something that I really need to work on more and be more available to the team."
On opening up conference play against Texas
“I'm really excited. I can't wait to play against Texas. I like to play against Texas because they have a lot of big kid that I can muscle around with."
Forward Katelyn Loecker
On overcoming first-half frustrations
“In the first half I was frustrated and coach just told me to keep hustling and working. The second half I just tried to do the little things and try to get put backs and do the things that I'm told or asked to do. I just tried to work out of it.”
On being undefeated at the end of non-conference play
“We have high expectations of ourselves so we just take it one game at a time. We obviously hoped that we would be.”
On opening up conference play against Texas
“We've been preparing for our conference all season , all summer and the whole offseason so we're ready for it.“
