Postgame Quotes

Feb. 23, 2008

OKLAHOMA HEAD COACH SHERRI COALE
On the game:
"Great environment for women's basketball. I thought we put together 40 pretty good minutes of basketball, competed, played with great intensity. I thought it was a great Big 12 women's basketball game."

On offensive rebounding:
"Well, obviously, I think we had 15 offensive boards at halftime and felt that was the reason why we had a slight advantage on the scoreboard. Offensive rebounds are momentum changers as much as are second opportunities to score. They give life and they take life away. We felt like we had an opportunity to win that battle and wanted to crash. We worked on it. It's just what we do. We lead the country in rebounding and we didn't do a great job of that in Manhattan (Kan.)."

On Amanda Thompson's rebounding ability:
"That's not uncommon. She does that a lot. She gets those rebounds so emphatically sometimes it's not the fact that it's a rebound, it's the way she gets it and sort of stirs everybody up."

On today's defensive strategy against Andrea Riley:
"I actually thought we did a pretty good job. You look down and she's got 26 points. She hit a couple of 3s from a crazy range and maybe if we would have had a hand up a little higher she doesn't take that shot. I thought, for the most part, we did a much better job on the way we limited her and tried not to foul her so often and give her so many free throw attempts.

"Jenna (Plumley) and Danielle Robinson stayed out of foul trouble for the most part. I know they both got in a little bit of a situation with about 10 minutes to go. But being able to have them in the second half, we didn't have that luxury when we played (Oklahoma State) before. Both were saddled before halftime. So it was nice to have them on the floor. I think that changed things, too."

On Guard Rose Hammond's playing time:
"Rose was fantastic. Rose's nine minutes were maybe the most important minutes of the game. She had four assists, zero turnovers, managed the game. Both of those guys had an opportunity to stay out of foul trouble and get a second win for the second half. I thought she was good."

OKLAHOMA JUNIOR CENTER COURTNEY PARIS
On rebounding the offensive glass:
"I think we just talked about it before the game because Coach put it up on the board -- get every offensive rebound -- and I think when they do all of those different defenses that just put us in position to get the rebound when it comes off the rim."

OKLAHOMA SOPHOMORE AMANDA THOMPSON
On the game:
"I came out, rebounded and that gave me a lot of energy and just worked it into my jump shot. That just kept going throughout the whole game and gave me a lot of energy and the same for everybody else."

OKLAHOMA FRESHMAN GUARD DANIELLE ROBINSON
On the game:
"They were not guarding me the same in the second half. That allowed me to drive and dish to a shooter or someone inside."

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OKLAHOMA STATE HEAD COACH KURT BUDKE
On the game:
"Well, wasn't that an exciting atmosphere today? That was a lot of fun. I am very, very proud of my team today. We did some things wrong, like allowing them to get the amount of offensive rebounds that they did. That could have probably changed the game, but give Oklahoma credit, they have the two biggest post players in America and they do a good job of rebounding and positioning.

"I thought it was a great college atmosphere and I thought that both teams came to play with a lot of passion today. We are 1-1 and hopefully there will be a third because I know everyone would like to see it."

On what he told the team late in the game:
"You know, we just don't go away. We have been doing that all year long. We always have the ability to come back. Our players just aren't going to go away. They are going to keep battling and, if we can keep them off the boards, we can bring this back. Again, just give OU credit. They have some big girls in there and they do a good job."

On the difference in the game:
"Everyone's gameplan when they play OU is to challenge someone other than the Paris twins. Give Amanda Thompson credit. She hit a lot of the shots that she didn't hit last time, she rebounded the ball well and she just played well. She is a legitimate player. I thought Danielle (Green) stepped up and matched that but we just didn't have that third one today. We needed to go deeper than two and we just didn't get that today."

On how far his team can go:
"I feel really good about it. I think we have proved once again, going on the road that we can play with just about anyone in this country. If someone is going to sit here and tell me that OU is a Final Four team...we are not far off. We are excited about the NCAA Tournament and we are excited about our opportunity that is going to come up here in the next couple of weeks. We have three awfully tough games left in the Big 12 and that never goes away."

OKLAHOMA STATE SENIOR GUARD DANIELLE GREEN
On the rebounding gap:
"We could have stopped some other players. Thompson had 13 rebounds. We should have been boxing out and fighting for some of those. Yeah, the Paris twins had their 14 and 15 each but (Thompson) didn't have to get those 13 and that was what we did wrong. We couldn't keep her off the boards and we should have kept boxing out until the play was over."

On Amanda Thompson's game:
"Like Coach said, we gave her the same shots last game. The difference is she hit them today. She did a god job hustling and knocking down the open shots."

OKLAHOMA STATE SOPHOMORE GUARD ANDREA RILEY
On the game:
"Well, this is a very hostile environment and I think the crowd helped their momentum. OU came out and fought like they wanted some revenge and they got that today. We just have to go back into the gym, match their intensity and continue to play hard."

On if anyone in the Big 12 can stop her:
"I don't really know how to answer that question. No comment."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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