2001 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship West Region Second Round

March 18, 2001

Head Coach Sherri Coale:
On Big 12 success in the tournament:
"How about the Big 12? We had a good time watching Missouri play this afternoon. Their coach Cindy Stein has done an excellant job with that team. It's great to see all of the Big 12 schools doing so well."

On Stanford's play last night and their size advantage on Oklahoma:
"They were just excellant last night against George Washington. But then again, they were really good back in December when they pushed us to overtime. Last night, they just hit on all cylinders. I think they are the best 10-seed that I have ever seen. You have to feel bad for George Washington to have such a great season and for it to end like that but Stanford was just excellant. Most of Stanford's players are bigger than our biggest player so obviously, their size is going to pose a problem."

On Oklahoma's performance last night:
"We need to relax a bit. There were about four or five possessions where we could have put the game away but something would go wrong. Certainly, you have to credit Oral Roberts. They did a good job of slowing down the tempo of the game and staying in it."

On Stacey Dales' condition after a rough game:
"She was moving great today in practice. I was especially concerned last night because she took some pretty good shots last night. Stacey is usually pretty banged up after every game that we play. But I was thrilled with how she looked today. I think she looks better than she did after the Big 12 Tournament."

On finding out that there might be a rematch with Stanford in the second round:
"When I first saw the bracket, I was prepared for either George Washington or Stanford in the second round. I didn't say to myelf, Oh my god, we might have to play Stanfor again.' When you get to this point, you have to be competative or you won't get far."

Junior Guard Stacey Dales:
General Comment:
"We prepared today. We had a good practice and are looking forward to tomorrow night's meeting. Personally, I have the normal aches and pains that I usually have the day after a basketball game. That happens after playing three months of Big 12 basketball."

Comments on Stanford:
"They like to play a half-court style offense so I think our best bet would be to utilize our quickness and use that to our advantage."

The NCAA Tournament and a No. 2 seed losing:
"I think it's going to have a positive effect on us. Since Missouri beat Georgia and we beat Missouri handily earlier in the season, it tells us how good of a team we can be. What makes the NCAA Tournament so difficult is every team brings their very best, no matter the seed is."

The key to OU's success:
"We have heart and we have very some defined beliefs in what we want to do. We feel we can win every game because we're one."

Senior Guard Sunny Hardeman:
General Comments:
"We had a light, upbeat practice. We got those jitters out and we're ready to go."

The importance of Stacey Dales:
"Stacey (Dales) makes defenses focus on her. She does a great job of driving the lane, dishing it out and including everyone in the offense."

On Stanford's height:
"Whoever I'm guarding is probably going to be six inches taller than me. I'll do my best and rely on the help from my teammates. We haven't played a team with the height quite like Stanford. It's going to be a challenge."

PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES -- STANFORD

Head Coach Tara Vanderveer:
On the OU-ORU game last night:
"I would credit Oral Roberts. They had a game plan and they controlled the tempo. Big shots didn't go for OU and ORU had something to do with it. We look at the best games they've had and what they are capable of. We get ready for their best. That clearly wasn't their (Oklahoma) best game last night. ORU came out and played like they had nothing to lose and did a really good job. I'm not going to take anything away from them."

On Oklahoma's Stacey Dales:
"She has excellent skills. She's very unselfish and she loves to pass. She has good size and good court vision. She's very athletic. Clearly, she seems to be a leader on their team. They're not a one-person team by any stretch of the imagination. They have excellent depth and versatility. She's a very versatile player. She brings a confidence to other people. A great player makes others around her better and with her ability, she makes everyone step up.

On Susan King's injury:
"We have a problem in women's basketball with ACL injuries and those things happen. But when someone goes up for a breakaway shot, and gets clobbered, I think its avoidable. As coaches and players, we really have to protect each other."

On Oklahoma's turnaround:
"I wore a ribbon in 1990 so that OU didn't drop women's basketball. I walked in here yesterday and realized what I had worn that ribbon for. I credit Sherri Coale because these are good kids and they've had a good season. They have players, a system, have been healthy for the most part and are enjoying the success. Enthusiasm is a fun ride, and in retrospect, it's harder to keep a good program and that will be their challenge at the next level.

Junior Forward Bethany Donaphin:
On the rematch with Oklahoma:
"That is a popular angle. Anytime a player goes down you can rally behind that player and that is what we are doing. It isn't really revenge, that is an ugly word. We had to adjust to the situation and we have now come together. I think that right now we are playing better than we have all year. Last night we spent the first half just getting out the jitters and we had to overcome that. We have a freshman playing a major role on the team and we had to get some of the kinks out there. We're a good team and hopefully we will show that tomorrow night."

On Stacey Dales:
"The offense runs through her. She is a key player on that team not just physically but emotionally also. She can really be a clutch player. We need to focus on what we can do and how we can come out strong, we can't afford to focus on just one person. She is the Big 12 player of the year and we realize that she could be a key.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

2001 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship West Region Second Round

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