Post-Game Quotes

Head Coach Sherri Coale

Opening statement:
"Good win. All wins are good. It wasn't quite as pretty as we would have liked for it to be, but give them credit, Marist plays really hard. Very well-coached and they're hard to guard and we didn't shoot it very well. So a double-digit win, shooting it as poorly as we did, we'll take that and run with it."

On what Marist did in the first half to cause problems:
"We were just incredibly indecisive. Our timing on post feeds was pretty poor. We stared at it for a long time instead of just catching and feeding and that allowed them to double team. We had several of our turnovers came from the post and we knew they were going to double team. We watched it on film and talked about it, but we didn't adjust very well. Then we got a little antsy and we started over-thinking every pass. That's something we haven't been doing; we've been very decisive so I expect we'll get back to that."

On wearing them out down the stretch:
"It seems like there's always moments that if you can grab them and bottle them you can change the destiny of the game. I thought Whitney's [Hand] save that Morgan [Hook] converted and then Vegas (Aaryn Ellenberg) followed that play by taking a charge at the other end, that really gave us that cushion and that ignition that we needed."

Junior G Aaryn Ellenberg

On if she now enjoys playing defense as much as offense:
"Yeah, it's fun. When you get to really anticipate and use your instincts and stuff, I think that helps out in these types of situations. And just going with it helps out."

On how much it's helped her that she has a lot of playing experience now:
"We see different teams that do similar things, so it makes it a little easier. But just sticking to the game plan and focusing on those key things like jumping to the ball and help defense, you just have to really perfect those little things. But we know what we're doing, you just have to do it."

RS Senior G Whitney Hand

On her season-high 13 rebounds:
"I don't really think I've got to do this and I've got to do that. You just take what you get; and right now, I'm playing in a position where I'm getting a lot of rebounds, and I'll take those stats. But at the same time, our whole team blocked out well. You don't get a rebound when your whole team doesn't block out and the guards are flying everywhere. We're improving big time in that. Over UCLA, we had 24 offensive rebounds. And I realize this team didn't crash as hard, but the guards not coming in to get rebounds is a big deal. So it's definitely a team effort."

Junior G Morgan Hook

On what it does for the team mentally to make good plays:
"It just gives us momentum. We practice that in practice all the time and jump in front of the ball. When you see your teammate diving out of bounds, you want to do something for her. Like she was literally going full speed and turned around and did it. It's in your mind you just want to do it for her. And I think it really gave us momentum the rest of the game. Like Aaryn went down and set a charge. If that play before didn't happen, it might've not set it up on the defensive end."

Head Coach Brian Giorgis

Opening Statement:
"I thought we played a great game for about 30 minutes, and then I think we ran out of gas. I think OU turned it up and showed why they're the team they are, why they're No. 12 in the country when we struggled finding shots down the stretch. I think it was right about the six- or seven-minute mark when we came out and ran two plays. We gave up a bucket, and then 3 [Aaryn Ellenberg] got a steal for a layup, and all of a sudden a five-point game went to nine. That was really kind of the turning point. Then, OU just turned it up, and we had a tough time getting looks. I think we were tired. A lot of it is my fault. I usually play my bench a lot more, but they obviously struggled early, so we just went with what was keeping us there and tried to hold out as long as we could, and we didn't. I give credit to Sherri [Coale] and those kids. That's a great team, and their great players stepped up. Whitney [Hand] and Ellenberg, all those guys did a great job."

On OU Head Coach Sherri Coale:
"Sherri Coale is obviously one of the best coaches in the country. She has been a great inspiration to me as the same type of person who was a high school head coaches and became college head coaches without ever being an assistant. What she's done here is just remarkable because I don't think I could do anything close to that. They've got a great team, they recruit well and they always can be a force."