Cowgirl Head Coach Jacie Hoyt Meets With The Media

Head Coach Jacie Hoyt

Opening statement:

"There's a lot of really exciting things going on right now for our program. We have played more games than most anyone in the country at this point, and then we obviously have one tomorrow, so we've been cramming a lot of games in. I think the biggest thing right now that we're focused on is just truly trying to get better each and every day. We fully understand that maybe we haven't played the best competition – for sure not the best that we're going to see throughout the season. We understand that it's going to get harder, but I'm just incredibly pleased right now as a coach that our team is making the most out of every opportunity and they are getting better every game. We're doing what we're supposed to do against the teams that we're playing. And so, while it can be really easy to say 'well, they're averaging 100 points per game, but they haven't really played anyone,' we're still averaging 100 points a game, and not everyone is able to do that. I feel like we're in a really great spot, in terms of we're doing what we're supposed to be doing right now and still getting better."

On her takeaways about the team after the first week of the season...

"We're learning more and more each game; what's working well together and what's not. We went into [the season] thinking 'okay, we have to figure out what we really like.' Honestly, I think the thing that's been of more value is figuring out what we don't like. Just a process of elimination that's been really good for us, avoiding certain lineups in certain situations at different times. So, that's been really good, and I think just understanding more about our players as well. We're just having games where each game we're learning about not necessarily the different lineups but [also] matchups: 'who guards this player really well' or 'what kind of matchups maybe aren't suited for us' or 'against this type of defense what kind of look do we want to bring to the table?' It's fun, I'm learning so much about this group right now, and it's been a fun time playing so many games just to learn as quickly as we are."

On freshman guard Lena Girardi...

"She's just fearless; I've said it so many times now because we've had so many games, but she's fearless. She's going to let it fly; she has the memory of a goldfish – which is a good thing in the game of basketball. If things don't go well, she's going to let it fly the next time; that's just who she is. She has that fearlessness to her. And I think that she gives confidence to her teammates, even though she's a freshman. I think they see that in her, and for the lone freshman to be out there doing that, it's contagious to her teammates as well."

On senior guard Micah Gray's development as a passer...

"It goes back to our depth and just understanding that she has great pieces around her. But I'm so proud of Micah. In fact, I just left a film session, and I was telling our coaches 'Micah would have taken that shot, as opposed to passing, in the last game.' So, if you watch even just game to game, I think it's so cool to see our kids figuring it out and passing up good shots for great shots and great shots for the perfect shot. That's where they're really learning [about] each other right now, and I love that about Micah because everyone knows what she's capable of doing as a shooter, but now for her to be more of a facilitator, it's just going to make us better."

On junior forward Achol Akot's defensive versatility...

"I hated playing against her at UCF. She's just hard to play against because of her length. She is an undersized big, but she's so athletic and can jump and use her length, that she is very serviceable – very, very serviceable – inside. But then, from a guard standpoint, she allows us to switch, and her perimeter defense is outstanding. Any time she's involved in a switch, I love it. She's just so versatile, I think that's one of her biggest strengths."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Achol Akot

Lena Girardi

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