Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. Baylor Postgame Quotes
January 26, 2014 | Cowgirl Basketball
Jan. 26, 2014
Recap | Box Score
OSU Head Coach Jim Littell
Opening statement
"Well, the fans were treated to a great game and two teams that battled very hard. I'm extremely proud of our team that we battled back. We were down 16 at one point and had a chance to win the game in regulation. There's a lot of different things that you could look at. We had some shots that we probably should have made. We missed nine free throws. We gave up 19 offensive boards. Hindsight is 20/20. If I had to do it over again, I'd foul at the end of regulation. (Makenzie Roberston) hit a great shot. We were supposed to switch out a little bit further on it. I worried a little bit with their size that if we sent them to the free throw line that the nightmare happens where she makes the first one and misses the second one and they put it back in. All sorts of things go through your mind on that, but if we had to do it over again, we should have fouled on that play at the end of regulation and made that scenario happen. We felt like we had all guard-like players in the game that we could switch out on, but evidently we didn't switch out far enough. It's a tough one and it's going to define who we are coming back and playing at a tough place like TCU. We've got to not let this one linger and go on. The positive that we can draw from it is that the kids battled rom 16 back and gave themselves an opportunity to win."
On the key to the comeback
"I just thought we started playing the way we play. The first half, I didn't know who we were. We were doing some things that I had never seen. Maybe that's the magnitude of the game and just feeling tight. We were down nine at half and we were probably lucky to only be down nine with the way we were playing. I thought we did a good job on Odyssey Sims, but she made big plays at the end of the game. That's what players that are up for National Player of the Year do."
On Roshunda Johnson
"I thought she played with outstanding composure for a young player. She continues to get better. She's becoming a better practice player all the time. It seems like the bigger the game, the more she shines. She played very well against Iowa State up there as well. She played very well against Kansas down the stretch of that game. We had the past, the present and the future in the gym today. We had Andrea Riley, Tiffany Bias and Roshunda Johnson. I think you can see that Ro is going to be a nice player for us in the future."
On allowing offensive rebounds
"You look at it and they got 13 more shots at the basket than we did. We didn't block out the way that we needed to. They're leading the conference in rebounding and offensive rebounding. A big factor that people don't realize is that when Odyssey Sims penetrates and you come off to help, you lose your rebounding position. It's not so much of what is the result of the shot. It's that you can't board. That was a product of her and the way that she penetrates."
Tiffany Bias
On the close loss
"It was a really tough loss, especially since we had great opportunities to win the game. We had a chance in regulation, but we got hurt by the little things, just not making free throws and turning the ball over. It's a tough loss for us."
On coming back to take the lead after falling behind by 16
"We never really lost sight of the game. I think we just kept pushing through as a team, but it was still the little things like foul shots that didn't make us play like ourselves. We were a little shaky in the first half, but I think we just kind of settled down in the second half and came out to play."
On Roshunda Johnson having a big game
"We've been waiting for her to step up in a game like this. She doesn't play like a freshman, though, so we weren't surprised. We were glad that she brought that spark that brought us back into the game in the second half."
Roshunda Johnson
On playing a major role in a big game
"It felt pretty good. I was waiting for my turn. When it came, I had to step up for my team and do what I had to do in order to get the win. We didn't get the win, but it was close and I felt like we played hard and fought."
On embracing the spark plug role on the team
"It just takes us a little time to get used to each other out there on the court, especially when we're subbing in different people at the same time. We all just have to get used to each other at the time when we're out there. We just didn't finish the game."
Baylor Head Coach Kim Mulkey
Opening Statement
“We have to win some of these kinds of games. We lost to Kentucky and we didn't finish. I thought we played Connecticut up to this point as good and as close as anybody has and we didn't finish. We go to Kansas and we fall apart. We could've very easily fallen apart out there tonight but we learned when things don't go your way and people cut in the lead, you can still win when you're on the road and your All-American is struggling. If you remember, I put her on the bench and it's not because I don't want the ball in her hands, she just needs to take a deep breath. She took a deep breath and I think she won the game for us there at the end after Makenzie (Robertson) hit the big 3-pointer to take it to overtime. Ironically, I told the coaching staff in the locker room that Nina (Davis) doesn't realize this but she could be a huge factor in the game today. If you can get 17 rebounds against UConn why can't you get it against Oklahoma State? She had 17 rebounds today and that's scary because I told the coaches that sitting in the locker room prior to the game.”
On Makenzie Robertson's defense against Liz Donohoe
“Makenzie (Robertson) has had to guard big players all year. She had to guard Mosqueda-Lewis for UConn and she had to even guard (Breanna) Stewart a couple of times. That's where your instincts for basketball take over. You figure out how to take a charge. You figure out how to do the little things to not just be manhandled. I think only one time in the overtime where (Brittney) Martin posted her up deeper. You just have to battle and have it within your soul to battle and do everything you can to help your team win. I thought her defense was fine against Donohoe. I think she gave her enough room to not just shoot the 3-pointer right in her face, but Donohoe doesn't have blazing speed. She's not going to blow by you off the dribble. She will spin move, and I said to make sure you're on her shoulder when she spin moves. Mackenzie did a good job. I thought for the most part Odyssey Sims did a good job on (Tiffany) Bias in the first half, but then she started to let her offense affect everything she did. I just thought it was a good basketball game and we just made a few more plays at the end to win it.”
On seeing Roshunda Johnson play
“I thought she shot the three-ball better than I had seen on film, and maybe that's because we were exposing that and challenging her to do that. She stepped up and she did it. Anytime a freshman can get in a game of this magnitude it helps their confidence. I thought our freshmen were outstanding. We played four of them today. I thought freshmen on both sides got valuable playing time today and did good things.”
Guard Makenzie Robertson
On the shot that tied the game in regulation
"I thought Niya (Johnson) was going to shoot it, honestly, because I didn't realize there was enough time for a three. As soon as I got it, I knew I needed to get it off. I wanted the ball, I wanted to shoot it. I did, and it went in."
On her defense against Liz Donohoe
"She's a great player and she had some size on me. I knew coming in that I was going to have to try and play tough and be bigger than I really am. I just did the best I could. I knew she was going to come off of a lot of screens, so I just tried to stay with her the whole time."
Forward Nina Davis
On her rebounding performance
"Coming into the game, I knew that one of the main factors would be rebounding. I knew that if we lost the rebounding, there was a possibility we could lose the game. I came in and tried to come in and be focused and not let the other team be tougher than us and hustle."
On the team winning when Odyssey Sims struggled
"For us to win the game like this is huge, because when Odyssey struggles and we still come out with the win, it gives everybody confidence. If Odyssey was excellent this game, we can only imagine how different the score would have been. I think it's just a boost of confidence as we continue down the road."
