Postgame Quotes

Jan. 30, 2008

OKLAHOMA HEAD COACH SHERRI COALE
On the game:
"All wins are good wins in the Big 12 Conference. We're going to take it. You know, it seems like in this thing where it's feast or famine, we're either going to not turn it over a lot, we're either going to make our free throws and not make 3s at all, or we're going to make 3s and not turn it over a lot. The free throw line stayed consistent, I might add -- 82 percent I believe we were -- and that's improved. It was good to see Jenna (Plumley) make some 3s, obviously. I thought Nyesha (Stevenson) was terrific and gave great energy. Most of our turnovers were us just being not as attentive as we needed to be. I thought we were a little absent of focus. Let's just put it that way."

On tonight's energy from the team:
"One of the things that we tried to do was speed them up and generate some energy and emotion with our defense. At times I thought we did. We go through a three- or four-minute stretch where we force them to turn it over and we capitalize on the other end. We made some good plays; there were just lots of stoppages in play in the first half. I felt like we couldn't get any rhythm, couldn't get a second wind and didn't play real fast. They rhythm of the game just felt real different. "

On forward guard Nyesha Stevenson's improving playing abilities:
"(She's) playing harder and staying intense longer. We've been working on that since day one. We watch for those signs of `she's getting tired', because when she gets tired it's over and she shuts down. She's been able to play longer without any of those signs.

"She shoots the ball well from the 3 and if you get close to her she's going to go by you. She's so fast. I don't think that she's real predictable defensively. You don't think that she can do some of the things that she can do. Passes that you don't think could get there, get there because she can run in between. I can see that she's a bit of a match-up problem."

OKLAHOMA JUNIOR CENTER COURTNEY PARIS
On knowing that the crowd is keeping up with her double-double:
"I definitely tried to focus on those two free throws and, like Coach said, it's cool to have that many people on your side."

On playing against a taller post player:
"(Krysten Boogaard) was but I have done a lot of things to work on playing taller people. But I did not play well tonight and I did not use the things that Coach and I have been working on."

OKLAHOMA SOPHOMORE GUARD NYESHIA STEVENSON
On keeping up energy and focus:
"I have been building confidence, going in and working on my game. If I don't think I'm doing well then I get down on myself and that brings on more stress and then I think that I can't do this right and it takes all my energy away."

OKLAHOMA SOPHOMORE GUARD JENNA PLUMLEY
On her game:
"I felt like I came in here and, like Coach said, I just need to slow down and just concentrate more on finding my rhythm and that's what I did tonight."

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KANSAS HEAD COACH BONNIE HENRICKSON
On the game:
"The difference is the Oklahoma scored on our turnovers and we didn't score on theirs. They were 4-of-17 in half court possessions but they were 7-of-14 in transition and those seven were layups. I thought at times our game plan to dig and double and crowd the paint was good, but their shooters stepped up and made some shots. I thought it was good for us to battle for some minuets in the second half and fight back a little bit. I thought the Krysten Boogaard and Chakeithia Weldon played well."

On Krysten Boogaard's performance:
"I thought she played good, big around the rim and I liked her confidence to try to get a piece of the ball. I also thought coming in that her length might bother the bigs a little. She is getting better about when she should try and get a piece of the shots. Most of the catches and pivots -- she was there. The times she wasn't, she just broke down defensively. She is playing with some confidence but she had got to get stronger. When she does that, I think she has a chance."

On the performance of Nyeshia Stevenson for Oklahoma:
"She shoots the ball well. I didn't think we played her to the 3-point line as aggressively as we should have. We weren't going to get out and deny her that shot, but we did say when you get past (Jenna) Plumley, that's your next best 3-point shooter. She has had a great year and just continues to play with more confidence. That is a kid who is hard to guard because she can pull up, get to the rim and take the 3-pointer. Those kinds of kids are always hard to guard and she does all three of those."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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