Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Sherri Coale

Opening Statement:
"I'm really proud of our guys. I thought we competed and fought every step of the way and did some really, really good things, attacked them, went after them and shot pretty well from the three. We did not shoot it well from two, but there's a big reason for that and her number is 42 (Brittney Griner). Baylor is just really, really good. The difference in the game was layups. We gave them a lot of layups, and it's easy to say `don't give them layups' but it's a lot harder to do. They're fast and they're athletic. We were worrying about how to keep the ball out of Griner's hands and we forget to just guard when it comes back out to the other side, and so some things to learn from. But overall, I'm really proud of our kids and thought we fought."

On being physical with Griner:
"We just wanted to do what we do offensively. We played through our post a lot and I thought they did a good job of demanding the basketball. And on the other end of the floor we did a nice job of not allowing her to turn, not allowing any space to turn and be there, taking charge."

On the little mistakes:
"Ironically, you have to be able to do all the big things to be in a position where the little things matter. And so it is step one and then step two. You want to say, `Can we all just listen when I tell one kid.' They do a really good job though, Odyssey (Sims) is really smart and there's just no way to guard them straight up, with Griner standing in the middle of the lane. So you've got to roll the dice and take some chances."

Junior Guard Aaryn Ellenberg

On Griner's presence inside:
"You don't want to go away from it. You don't want to go away from the game plan. And we are a really good driving team. You don't want to go away from it, but she does get a lot of blocks so it is in your head, but you can't let those get to you."

Senior Forward Joanna McFarland

On Griner's presence:
"I think really it just makes you think twice about, when you're driving, thinking, `Am I going to take this layup?' It makes you change your shot a little bit, but I think when you just stick to what you're going to do. She's going to block shots, but you have to be aggressive still.

"I'm used to playing a physical game. It isn't a fear, you just have to go in and go up. If she goes hard at me, I have to go hard back. It's a mutual thing."

Head Coach Kim Mulkey

On the game this afternoon:
"I thought shooting 60 percent from the field with six players in double figures against the number two team in the league right now is very good. But then you have to evaluate yourself and say, `If you shot like that and had that many players in double figures, why did you only win by 17?' It goes back to two things. One, missed free throws. They make free throws, we missed 14 free throws. That's unacceptable. Then, they made a lot of threes. Those two areas were big. I thought our transition game was outstanding. I thought anybody and everybody that wanted to score ran the floor, but we have to do a better job at executing in the half court when we don't have those transition opportunities."

On the inbounds plays:
"They had three around Brittney, which we've seen before. That group has been playing together awhile. I think it's instincts amongst themselves. They just feed off of each other."

On Griner fouling out:
"Brittney doesn't foul. She doesn't have to. So we're going to see what we can correct from our end."

On how the team compares to last year:
"We're better. That doesn't mean we're entitled to another championship. We've got to go out and play hard. We've got to earn it."

Senior Center Brittney Griner

On setting the block shot record:
"I'm definitely happy I got that. Now I'm just going to try to set it high."

On not setting the Big 12 points record:
"When I went into the game I didn't go in trying to break that, so I wouldn't say I'm disappointed. I wish I would've made my free throws and made some more shots in the first half. I'm disappointed about that."

On fouling out:
"I definitely didn't know it was my fifth one. I didn't even know I had four at the time. It was frustrating. I haven't fouled out like that in awhile."

Junior Guard Odyssey Sims

On her offensive skills today:
"I don't go into the game trying to get a lot of points or take a lot of shots. I just do whatever I can to help my team win."

On having Griner on defense:
"It relieves a lot of pressure off me. I'm still pressuring the ball and keeping them to the sideline, but it's always a big help when you can send them in and know she's going to block the shot."

Players Mentioned

Aaryn Ellenberg

Joanna McFarland

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Postgame Quotes

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Players Mentioned

Aaryn Ellenberg

Joanna McFarland

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