Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. Duke Postgame Quotes
March 27, 2013 | Cowgirl Basketball
March 27, 2013
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2013 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
HEAD COACH QUOTES
Second Round · No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 2 Duke
Cameron Indoor Stadium · Durham, N.C.
Tuesday, March 26
OKLAHOMA STATE HEAD COACH QUOTES –
Jim Littell, Oklahoma State Head Coach
Opening Statement:
“I am very proud of our basketball team. This is a group that has continued to get better as the year progressed. We continue to defy our depth issue, which got us in a little bit of trouble against a very talented Duke team. I thought we played outstanding for the most part. We made some mistakes taking care of the basketball, made some mistakes defensively. Good teams make you pay for that. Duke played extremely well in the second half. I don't think it is necessarily anything we did wrong, we just ran out of gas tonight. We have been playing basically five people for the last two and a half months. I look at the numbers of what these kids have played. Playing a caliber team like Duke, depth becomes an issue and that was a big issue tonight. I told them to look at the big picture of what they have done this year. There was a first for these kids, Tiffany's [Bias] group and on down, it is the first time we have won a game in the Big 12 Tournament. It is the first time we went to the NCAA Tournament. We came in here and beat DePaul. Our program is progressing and it is headed in the right direction, because of young ladies like this.”
On Duke's run in second half:
“We were talking about the mistakes that we were making, turning the basketball over. Credit their defense for that. We made some lazy passes and it turned into easy baskets. I thought it fueled the comeback for them and got the crowd involved in it. It was some things they were doing to us as well as us getting careless with the basketball. For us to come in here, we almost have to play a perfect game to win this game. I thought we played pretty close to perfect in the first half and for four or five minutes in the second half. It is a tough draw coming out here, because of who they are and [Chloe] Wells came off the bench and was a big factor in the game. They have four kids, five kids who can score at every position. That is what makes them a top-five team.”
On what team did well against Tricia Liston:
“Brittany Martin kid for us is a special talent. I just told her in the locker room that she gained so much experience this year. She is going to be a great player. We put her on her, told her to stick on her and she did great job. We didn't give her [Liston] too many open looks. I think she got a couple off kick-outs on some offensive rebounds. I thought Brittany Marvel just did a great job. It has been like that for us all year long. A freshman for us was the assigned to guard the best player every night on the other team in the Big 12. When kids come into Division I basketball, the two things they struggle with the most are the physicality and the quickness. She has both of those. I think we just have an exceptional player.”
OKLAHOMA STATE PLAYER QUOTES
Tiffany Bias, Oklahoma State Guard
On fatigue and Duke's run in the second half:
“I feel that our turnovers really led to their momentum and I think that we weren't taking care of the ball. That 1-2-2 press that they put on us kind of riled us a little bit and we didn't take care of the ball and didn't adjust to it well.”
On what Oklahoma State did well in the first half:
“I think we came out with a lot of fire and a lot of pride. I think that the second half we got a little lazy on the rebounding and they got second and third shots and open threes which really killed us. I think it's just one of those things, just a mental breakdown, and we didn't recover very well.”
On her defensive game plan:
“Alexis Jones is a great point guard and has great handles, so it's basically just playing solid, good defense. Don't reach, you'd rather give up a jump shot than an easy lay-up. The game plan was basically just to play solid. When they pass it in the post you want to dig out, but get out to your man too.”
Toni Young, Oklahoma State Forward
On what Oklahoma State did well in the first half:
“I think at the beginning we were a little slow rebounding and getting to loose balls, but after that we broke it down and started going after every ball. We're a fast and good team and we used what we had to build a lead against them.”
