Postgame Quotes

Nov. 23, 2012

Head Coach Sherri Coale

On OU's inside game and center Nicole Griffin's performance:
"I'm glad we had it because our outside game wasn't very good. It's very unlike us to shoot as poorly as we did from beyond the arc and, really, (the shots) weren't rushed. They were all pretty good looks. Kudos to our guards in the second half for figuring out that if they're not going in, to feed the ball to (Nicole Griffin). She did a great job of catching securely against physical play. Our guards did a great job of finding her when she was open and putting her in a position to make plays. I'll tell you what, she had some tough finishes. A few jump hooks, a nice reverse layup on the baseline – a big-time move. The only problem I had with her game is to make some free throws."

On both teams' low 3-point shooting percentages:
"Maybe it's the difference in the backdrop, depth perception, that sort of thing. Typically, when you're at a tournament, as the games go on, your shooting percentage elevates from the perimeter as you get accustomed to your surroundings. I think it's kind of an anomaly. I expect it to be a lot better tomorrow.
"I felt like most of their 3s were rushed. We did a great job of running at them. I was very pleased with that."

On Maddie Manning's first start as a Sooner:
"I thought she was fantastic. We changed the way we guarded ball screens about eight different times during the game. Not eight different coverages, but we would be in a coverage for a few possessions and then based on the personnel Arkansas had on the floor, we would be in a different coverage. She had to adapt and adjust to that. She also had to play different positions on the floor offensively. She's accustomed to running the 1 and she was in the game, most of the time, alongside Morgan [Hook], so she was running the 2 or the 3 position. So she had a lot of things to deal with and I thought she handled them extremely well. Her two steals that led to layups: big plays at crucial times. Offensive rebounds: big number for us. We needed that perimeter number. I thought she handled the challenge well. And, the tighter the game got, the more she wanted to make sure she was out there. That's what I love about that kid."

On Arkansas guard Keira Peak's 30-point performance:
"Keira Peak was unbelievable. A couple of the 3s she made were as tightly contested as you can possibly contest without fouling."

On Saturday's matchup with Oregon:
"Night and day. They'll be completely different (than Arkansas). That's what I love about our pre-conference schedule. It puts us in a position to have to adapt to things. We'll have to play a different type of basketball tomorrow. They get out and run. One of their games, they shot 45 3s. So, entirely different. What you want to make sure you do is utilized your strength, maybe, against them. So Nicole Griffin might have a great opportunity to have a big game tomorrow as well.

Freshman Guard Maddie Manning

On the game:
"It was just a fun, hard-fought battle. Every play that we made, everybody was screaming, the whole bench is getting excited. It just felt like you were in a war and we weren't going to lose that game.

"You can't create that atmosphere anywhere else. For me, there's nothing more fun than being pushed up against a wall and breaking through the wall."

Junior Center Nicole Griffin

On the matchup with Arkansas:
"They were really physical. We have been working on being tough so I guess we kind of played into that with practice and everything. I think we just went harder and dug it out."

On staying out of foul trouble:
"Pushing through, I knew the situation. I just had to do it and just kind of push through it and try to be smart even though I was tired. Sometimes when you kind of get tired, you're not thinking as well. So I was trying to be conscious of that."

Players Mentioned

Nicole Griffin

Maddie Manning

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Postgame Quotes

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Players Mentioned

Nicole Griffin

Maddie Manning

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