Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. Texas Tech Postgame Quotes
January 18, 2014 | Cowgirl Basketball
Jan. 18, 2014
Head Coach Jim Littell
Opening Statement
"Some positives are we came out and played much better in the second half. I really liked the fact that we had five players in double figures and a sixth player with nine points. I thought we shared the ball very well. Anytime we're under 10 turnovers I feel good about that. Obviously there are things we need to get corrected. How we started the game. I thought we were very flat, very sluggish and didn't play with a lot of emotion and for 18 minutes of the first half I thought we were totally out hustled. That isn't what our program stands for and we're trying to set a higher standard for that. That will not get you a lot of wins, especially when you go on the road so we've got to make sure we're trying to strive to get to a 40 minute game and we haven't reached that yet."
On not playing well in the first half
"I thought we practiced pretty well the last couple of days. I don't know what it was. I know this team is too talented to go five minutes without scoring. I think that's pretty close to what it was. In athletics you've got to be mentally ready to go. We talked to our team on Thursday about the Chuck Dailey line "Play every game like it's a playoff game." I was pleased with the way we played the second half. Amber Battle is a talent. She's a lot of fun to watch. I don't like giving up 21 to anyone but she earned a lot of those baskets and hit a lot of tough shots. With the ball in her hands she's really good."
On Liz Donohoe playing out of her slump
"Liz [Donohoe] has struggled and she'll admit that. After the men's game the other night she was in the gym at 11 o'clock so she's trying to work her way out of it. You've got to respect that. Every player in every sport goes through a slump from time to time and it's how you handle that adversity that defines you. When a kid is in the gym at 11 o'clock at night that says a lot about their character. I thought she had a real nice second half. What Liz has done is she's found a different way to help her team. When she wasn't scoring she produced 13 rebounds today and I thought she made some really nice passes in the second half where she threaded the needle and had an assist to someone who was cutting to the basket."
On Tiffany Bias playing hard after going down in the first half
"She's just that type of player. She's very special. To have one turnover for as many minutes as she plays and she touches the ball every time, that's pretty incredible. She's initiates the offence and she initiates the break and she plays good defense. We feed off what Tiffany Bias does. She's our leader. She's the motor to this team. She's a special young lady. I was looking and I think in the last 16 games she's sat out five seconds. She never gets tired I get tired just watching her, but she never gets tired. She's just a fine athlete that's the best possible shape you can be in."
On coaching against Candi Whitaker
"I've been asked that a lot this week. Candi (Whitaker) has been a special young lady to me for a long time. I recruited her out of high school. She played for me. She was here last year. She's just very good at what she does and I'm extremely proud of her and she'll do well there."
Guard Tiffany Bias
On what was said during halftime
"Just for us to pick it up. We came out really sluggish and we had no reason to come out sluggish. I think it's just one of those things where we had to pick it up. He got onto us a little bit and got some fire under us."
On Liz Donohoe coming out of her shooting slump
"We knew she would. All shooters go through that and she's been in the gym constantly trying to get her shot back. She shoots great during practice so it's one of those things that when Liz shoots we all think it's going in. She just picked it up in the second half and really got the game to spark."
Guard Brittney Martin
On the transition after halftime
"It was just effort really. The first half we came out really sluggish and really tired. We shouldn't have been like that because we woke up early enough to get all of our sleepiness out. We should have been giving better effort and playing harder."
Head Coach Candi Whitaker
On the biggest difference in the first half from the second
"I thought we had good energy. I thought we were responding to runs and scoring a little bit better. Defensively we were more solid. Oklahoma State missed more shots in the first half, especially to start. I didn't think they necessarily had bad looks, they just didn't go. We were doing a good job of hanging in and making plays."
On her team's effort on the boards
"When you look at the difference in bodies, they are bigger and stronger and, looking at them, should overpower. I thought we really battled in that category. We tried to hold serve the best we could, and did a nice job there."
On comparing this OSU team to the one she coached last year
"They are obviously much deeper, they had eight kids last year. Most of the same people are playing. I'm happy to see LaShawn step in and have such a great year. Everyone else is pretty much returning, as far as minutes. I knew all the new ones through the recruiting process, and they have some really talented players."
On the biggest defensive breakdown in the second half
"They were really hurting us in transition. Oklahoma State has a lot of talent, so they're going to make plays. And they did that, particularly early in the second half. They really put the game away early."
