Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State vs. Texas Postgame Quotes
March 02, 2013 | Cowgirl Basketball
March 2, 2013
OSU Head Coach Jim Littell
Opening Statement
"Wow, it wasn't pretty, but I thought we continued to fight, claw, scratch and stay in the basketball game. We didn't play very well for 32 minutes but for the last eight minutes I thought we played extremely hard and competed. People stepped up and made key plays with the game on the line and this is a big win for our team. It has tournament implications with this win. I'm very excited that we could finish up Lindsay Keller and Toni Young's career with a win here at Gallagher-Iba."
On the Last Eight Minutes of the Game
"I thought Tiffany Bias started making plays, went in for a layup. I thought that she brought some energy that we didn't have the first 32 minutes and I thought that Kendra Suttles put us on her back and willed us to win. She hit a three, had a nice drive in the lane, she just kept going and had a nice take to the hole. I thought she played well and stepped up with the game on the line."
On Team Stepping Up
"It's hard to score on them with their size. Nneka Enemkpali and Imani McGee-Stafford are really talented and long, I thought we missed some easy shots at the rim, we kind of hard our eye where they were. I think their length caused some of our shots that we missed. If I had to do it again I wouldn't have started in a zone, we were passive out of that. We were playing some percentages, they were only shooting 23 percent from beyond the arc so we tried to pack it in, but when we do that we start to play a little soft and tentative. So we went to man and started to change it out a little bit."
On Tiffany Bias
"Tiffany was very big, with as many minutes as she's played we expect her to make those plays and she stepped up and made them at key times. What doesn't show up in the scorebook is I thought she did an exceptional job on Chassidy Fussell. We held her 3-10 for shooting and 1-8 from the line, the shot he hit was deep and near the end of the game to cut it to two. We knew that was a key going in to the game that we needed to hold her in check."
On Getting Ready for Iowa State
"There needs to be a little more mental preparation than physical. We are going to watch a lot of film, we have some people that are pretty beat up right now, they'll be fine, they're in the cold tub right now trying to get some aches and pains out. They'll all be fine and ready to play Monday in Ames. I feel a lot better going in there after a victory. I don't know how comfortable anybody feels going into a game at Iowa State. We have a big challenge ahead of us, but I'm going to enjoy this one for the next 10-12 hours."
Tiffany Bias
On the final minute of the game
"I knew they were going to go back to Fussell. She's a great player. She's a great shooter. It's just one of those things that you have to read and know that they're going to keep going back to their best players.
On the free throws that clinched the game
"Well, I'm kind of mad that I couldn't hit all of them, but I hit two big ones that sealed the deal for us and ended the game, but those are shots that you have to knock down."
On what changed from the first half to the second half
"I think we just came out sluggish. We weren't really hustling as much as we should have. At half, our coaches got onto us about things we should fix. I think we executed them when we came back out.
Toni Young
On her Senior Day
"That was actually a pretty bad game for me, but it doesnt matter because we won and that's all I wanted to do was win my last game on this court."
On how rewarding it is to win this last game after such a successful career
"It's exciting. My team showed up ready to play. When I'm not having the best game, it obviously shows up on the stat sheet that everyone else can play. That's a great feeling to know that you always have that support system behind you."
Texas Head Coach Karen Aston
Opening Statement
"Really pleased with how our team came out of the gates. I think that is something we have been doing really well in recent games. We didn't finish the job today, credit to Oklahoma State, but we just didn't finish what we started. We played a great first half, maybe let a couple of things get away in the first half but this game came down to rebounding. The game was won and lost on rebounding on their side of the court and give credit to them for playing every play out."
Forward Nneka Enemkpali
On scoring troubles in the first half
"I think I was just really to open. I felt like there would be a double team and there wasn't anyone there. I just didn't seem to hit the square and make the shot."
Center Imani Stafford-McGee
On talking to your teammates
"I think we need to be more assertive with each other. We need to know when to get who the ball, when and where. A lot of us pass up shots and don't know when to pass to a teammate. We just really want to win."
