Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. TCU Postgame Quotes
January 14, 2014 | Cowgirl Basketball
Jan. 14, 2014
OSU Head Coach Jim Littell
Opening Statement
"We had a lot of bright spots, I was impressed with the way we started the game on a 10-0 run, came out and guarded very well and in the first half holding them to only 22 points. For a veteran team, I wasn't pleased with the way we came out to start the second half. I think they went on a 10-0 run to start the second half and our intensity on the defensive end, our shot selection, our ball movement became stagnant and it turned a 15 point lead into a ballgame pretty early. Then we had some people step up and hit some big shots. I was pleased that we held them to 53 points. [Zahna] Medley's an outstanding talent, a very good three-point shooter, I know she didn't get as many as she would have liked to on that. Step back shots, very good at getting to the rim, she's just really good against the guards, especially coming off a high-ball screen. I thought our ball movement was good and the way we shared the basketball, we didn't particularly shoot the ball well and that's how TCU plays the game. They want to force you to shoot a perimeter shot and then give and go with it. Probably didn't get the ball inside enough. Another bright spot was 19 offensive rebounds and only 11 turnovers."
On Roshunda Johnson
"She's becoming more comfortable. A lot of freshman in this league try to feel their way out, should I shoot this, should I pass it to another player, hopefully this was a coming out party for her tonight. I told her going into the game that we needed three three-pointers from her tonight and we got two, so I told her she needed to listen a little better. But she played really well, attacked off of the dribble, allowed Tiffany [Bias] to get out and run a lane, which I like. I thought Ro did a good job guarding as well, getting 12 off the bench with no turnovers was really big. I think they cut it to five and she had a head fake and a nice intermediate jumper and the next time down she hit a three from the left wing that took the ball game back to double digits. So if she doesn't make those shots then the ball game was getting pretty tight."
On having trouble with shots in the lane and second chance opportunities
"They had the leading shot blocker in the Big 12 in [Latricia] Lovings and I told our group that if you have it where you can stick it back in that's fine, but don't waste a possession if you feel like you're crowded in there. So, I feel like what we did a better job of tonight was we didn't have a point blank two footer, so we kicked it back out and tried to have a good possession of it. We didn't always do that but there were times that we got some buckets off of that. When they have size and athleticism there and a six footer gets it against a six-four, it makes sense to kick it outside. Tiffany Bias was really good again tonight. She continues to excel. She spent a lot of time in the gym working on the three and I think that was a career high for three's tonight. She was really solid and hit a lot of big shots and 40 minutes again, she just keeps going."
On Tiffany Bias
"She's doing a better job at using her speed and using the new hand-check rule to her benefit and getting to the free-throw line and then using some shot fakes and getting some intermediate jumpers. When she can hit the three, that makes those two phases of her game better because they have to come out on her. The last two games, at Iowa State for sure, and here, I don't recall her take a bad shot. In the past, she has kind of forced some things and we've used some ball screens and I think she has just been very patient and efficient and taken some high-quality shots.
On Kendra Suttles and LaShawn Jones
"We had three blocks and Kendra [Suttles] didn't score much tonight but she had five big offensive rebounds and I thought she was a big difference in the first half. LaShawn [Jones] was three for seven, which means we probably should have gotten more touches to her. She has to get better at the free throw line. When you send her down there and get fouled and come up empty out of it, it's like a turnover. So, we're going to get her more touches and she's going to be one that sticks more free-throws in the long run."
Tiffany Bias
On struggling against TCU's zone defense
"I think we were doing fine in the first half with moving the ball and getting easy shots that we wanted. The second half was when we didn't move the ball as fast as we should have. They were making good players and playing good defense, so they're obviously a good defensive team, but I think we got comfortable when we started settling down, hitting shots and not just rushing everything. I think we did just fine."
On TCU making the game close in the second half
"I think that's just basketball. Momentum changes. They had the momentum in the second half after we came out a little sluggish. They hit a few shots, so we called those few timeouts to kind of regroup and get ourselves under control. We weren't making all of our shots, but you just have to try and knock them down and keep shooting."
On if the team had problems getting into the lane against TCU's height advantage
"I wouldn't say height-wise, I would say they're scrappy and aggressive. I think that was our goal, to penetrate, pinch and just execute the plays we wanted to run. I think we did a good job of that."
Roshunda Johnson
On giving the team a spark in the second half
"I felt like I really needed to step up. Today was my time to step up and be the player that they recruited me to be."
TCU Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On how the zone affected Oklahoma State
"That's just what we do. We've played zone for about 98 percent of possessions this year. That's what we do. They're an excellent team against any type of defense."
On what the team did in the second half to close the gap
"I thought the ball hit the net a lot more than the backboard or the rim. That helped, and then I thought that helped our energy. We rebounded the ball better and got the game in transition. In the first ten minutes of the game they were pounding us on the glass. Rebounding was a big key for us. I thought we had good transition opportunities."
On how the team has progressed from last season to this season
"The obvious is that we only won two last year, and we're sitting here tonight 2-2. I was pleased with the way we fought back against a really good team across the board. I thought we made Oklahoma State make plays to beat us tonight Johnson made big plays, (Tiffany) Bias made big shots in the second half. They had to make plays to beat us, so I thought our group showed some toughness and character there. We know this league is unforgiving. We knew we were struggling coming offensively into here and we were playing a team that is top five in field goal percentage. The start we got off to was hard for our group to play through but they did."
