Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU NCAA Selection Quotes
March 18, 2013 | Cowgirl Basketball
March 18, 2013
OSU Head Coach Jim Littell
On Seeing Oklahoma State be announced
"It's really nice to see your name come up. It's been a few years since we've been to the NCAA Tournament. I'm very proud of the ladies and what they've accomplished the last couple of years. This is just a nice progression for our program to get here."
On going to Durham
"We hadn't even considered going to Durham. We thought we could possibly go to College Station. We thought Spokane or Iowa City was an option. We're going to a neat place for the kids to play at Camden Indoor Stadium and the campus of Duke. It's going to be a fun place for them to play."
On having a few days off since the Big 12 Tournament
"It was good for us to have two or three days off. We've played five or six players for the majority of the last two months so we needed a little break and a change to take a break and heal up. Then the last few days we've been able to practice and focus on the fundamentals of the game. Once you get into Big 12 play its turnover and start preparing for the next team. It was good to get back to some of the fundamentals of the game."
On being excited for the players
"I'm excited. I'm really happy for our players. They've worked hard and have had a lot of quality wins in the Big 12 and I feel that they are very deserving."
On DePaul
"I know they're very well coached and they've had a long history of being in the tournament. They play in a great conference. I don't really know much about their personnel, but we'll go to work. "
On prepping for DePaul
"We've got coaches going to work to get film and prepare. We'll spend tonight and tomorrow putting it all together. Our prep will be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and that's pretty normal for the time that we have allotted. In the Big 12 you play Wednesday, Saturday so we'll try to keep with the same pattern we've had all year long."
On the possibility that they could have played Baylor again
"I didn't think we'd do that. The NCAA Committee tries to stay away from that and I didn't feel like we'd be an eight or nine seed either. I thought going in that'd we'd be a six or a seven. I really didn't anticipate a match up with Baylor."
On the energy level after the performance against Baylor
"I think it's helped up. We appear to have a little bounce in our step and the team has showed a lot of energy in practice the last couple days. We've talked about not believing in moral victories, but sometimes I think if you play really well against a great opponent it can boost your confidence level. I believe our game against Baylor helped our confidence level."
On Lindsey Keller and Toni Young being the only Cowgirls to be in the tournament again
"Not a lot because they were pups when they did it and they were riding Andrea Riley's shirt tail when they did it and they weren't big factors for the most part. It's going to be new for most of our players going into this. The thing that's good about it is, the Big 12 prepares you to play against a lot of different styles and a lot of different elements. I just believe that our conference gets our teams ready to play in the NCAA Tournament."
On getting ready for Sunday
"We'll prepare the same way. We'll build a scouting report and we won't change anything from what we've been doing all year."
Guard Tiffany Bias
On what it was like watching the selection show as a team
"We were nervous the whole time, but I don't know why. It's just a great feeling knowing how hard we worked over the summer and this season. We kept pushing through tough games, and I think it's good to know we got there as a team."
On having a week off following the Big 12 Tournament
"We went hard after the tournament, practicing fundamentals and the little things. Because the season is so long, you sometimes forget that you can't do some of those fundamentals without having your legs under you. It was good to get a break and get healthy, especially for this tournament where every team is great."
On where they were seeded and the matchups they face
"It's really exciting. Now that we know who we are playing, we can prepare better and get ready to play. We played Baylor really close in our last game, so I think we can play with anyone out here. I think it's just a matter of how much we want it and how hard we are willing to work for it."
Forward Toni Young
On being selected for the tournament
"I think it was well-deserved. Our team fought the whole year. I was getting nervous, wondering where we were going, but to see our name pop up on there meant we got the recognition we deserved for playing so hard all year."
On staying focused during the off week
"I think it was good to get a little break from everything, but were were pretty much focused to get back here today. It was nice to get rested for the tournament, though."
