OU-Texas Postgame Quotes

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Oklahoma Quotes
Head Coach Sherri Coale

Opening Comment:
“It was a really big win for our program for a number of reasons. Obviously, Texas is a very talented basketball team. A conference game on our home floor, we have to make sure we control our own destiny in that regard. I thought we just competed with great toughness tonight. That's probably the thing I'm most proud of. I think we can play a lot better than we played. I don't really think offensively that was one of our premier performances. Defensively, we made them uncomfortable, we fought on the boards, and we made toughness plays. We got 50/50 balls and we created some luck for ourselves and I just love the fact that everybody contributed. I love our bench and how involved they are regardless of who is in at what point in time. I'm just really proud of a young team. It looks like we're really pulling together.”

On what Maddie Manning was able to bring to the table:
“Maddie does a great job of breaking down the defense off the dribble. She is obviously long and kind of wiry when she gets in there and really good off of ball screens. I really think that is where she did most of her damage; getting the ball down the floor and distributing.”

On the increased confidence of the team:
“Well, I think trust is contagious. As individuals start to trust themselves, their teammates start to trust them more. That's reciprocal and I think that's what you're seeing right now. I feel like we won this game because of what we did in November and December. We just had to do hard stuff and we kind of had to get broken into pieces so we could build ourselves back the way we wanted to be. We have a long way to go and a lot of improvement to make, but I am really proud of our group to this point.”

On if the team's intangibles helped them respond positively to adversity early in the season:
“Oh yeah. It's always about how you respond to it. It's not about the event itself. It's how you respond to it. I started to say that we're fortunate, but we have kids with great character. That's part of what we try to do in recruiting. We knew that if we could get everybody slowed down a little bit, calmed down a little bit, and steady the water for just a bit then we could recognize one of our strengths and that's what you see happening right now. Everybody is really pulling for each other and playing for each other and that's the difference sometimes. In a game like this it was the difference.”

On if Texas' high amount of three-point attempts played into their hands:
“You know, I don't think they shot that many until late when they were trying to catch up. The first thing you think about Texas is take away the points in the paint whether is it is dribble penetration to the middle of the floor and shooting a free throw line jumper, throwing it to the bigs, or offensive rebounds. We told our guys they are probably going to make some threes, they are not bad three-point shooters, but take away the points in the paint, so that was right into the game plan.”

RS-Sophomore Forward Maddie Manning

On playing without fear:
“Yeah, I guess I was so caught up in the game. I had been working on finishing and I was probably more excited that I finished a layup than anything else.”

On if it has taken her awhile to play in the moment and not worry about her knees:
“I wouldn't really say the big thing was not thinking about my knees, it was not thinking about other things. Like, slowing the game down in my head. I know what to do but now it's down to the point where I can just do it. So I think that's more of a big thing. I've gotten my knees fixed; I had a great doctor and a great trainer so that's not my worry anymore.”

On if she can recall the last time she felt as good as she did tonight on the court:
“I mean, there has been moments this year that I felt as smooth and as into the game – just getting lost in the game. But, playing a full game, playing as many minutes as I played, it's been two years.”

On being in on a lot of plays in a short period of time and if she told herself she had to do that:
“Well, I knew Gioya Carter was out with fouls and she has been a big momentum person for us – really scoring and just doing a lot of little things for us. So, I knew that I had to pick up mine and kind of bring that toughness. And then, you know, like Coach (Sherri Coale) said, you look at the bench and there's no way you're not going to go in and tip that ball because of the energy they are bringing.”

RS-Sophomore Guard Peyton Little

On finishing with 10 rebounds:
“Yeah, I was surprised when they said I had 10 rebounds but we all had to fight together. We knew how huge Texas was and they are obviously huge on the glass so we just fought our way through it and we were the tougher team tonight.”

On being reliable at the free throw line:
“Yeah, obviously I couldn't really get a shot to fall tonight but I just tried to do whatever it took for us to win the game. Whether that was getting steals or getting rebounds, I just felt like I just tried to do whatever I could do because obviously I couldn't get a shot down.”

Freshman Guard Gabbi Ortiz

On hitting the 3-pointer well behind the line:
“Yeah, the shot clock was winding down and I was aware of that and the defenders dropped back and I was like, 'You're not going to step up and guard me.' So, I didn't really realize that I was that far behind the arc. I just shot it and when I released it, I knew it was in. I mean, that was huge. It was a big momentum change and I'm happy that I could knock that down. If I miss that, they go on a run and get a basket and it's a whole other ball game. But I took the shot and it went in.”

On the momentum shift in the last five minutes of the first half:
“Well, I'm really proud of how we finished out. I think the big thing we've been really struggling with in the past couple of games is finishing those last four-minute intervals. We talk about finishing each interval and we wanted to win every one. We had won the one before that – I think we had beat them 15-7 in that four minute interval – so that was just a great momentum and we were just really all trusting ourselves. We really worked hard and we just played tough and I'm really proud of everybody.”

Texas Head Coach Karen Aston
Opening comment:
“Obviously, I think anyone could look at our team if you've followed us at all and tell that we're in a funk right now and we're struggling a bit offensively. We're struggling to find our identity. Credit to Oklahoma tonight. They survived some foul trouble in the first half. I think this is the second game in a row that I felt like our team let a game slip away in the first half. We had ample opportunity to take advantage of their foul trouble, and we had a lead, and we just didn't value possessions very well down the stretch in the first half. I think anytime you let a good team on their home court feel like they've survived something and they're still in the game, or they took the lead, then you've let something slip away. Again, credit to Oklahoma.”

On if the lack of post play is a concern:
“It's a huge concern. It's a little bit different in this game. I thought the last game was not a whole lot going on inside. I think this game was poor decision making on our part.”

On what is different between now and non-conference play:
“We're struggling a little bit offensively and we're struggling to get easy buckets like we did early in the year. We were able to get out in transition, and obviously things slow down a little bit in the Big 12 and everybody knows that's particularly what goes well and they try to take that away from you. Some of it is personnel and some of it is just a better job by the teams that we are playing now. The game has slowed down for us and people are forcing us to make some decisions that we're not making very well.”

On if Maddie Manning was a surprise to Texas:
“No, and I think some of her points were late in the game because we were fouling. Not necessarily. We game plan for all of them. I think their bench is good, and we talked right before we came out on the floor tonight to not discount the people who were coming off the bench because I think they've been heavy contributors for their team.”

On if the Texas guards shot too much:
“They did tonight. I thought we took some really ill advised shots. It's rather frustrating because we would call some things and we would try to get the ball inside. You can't take every open shot. I think Coach Conrad told me that a long time ago. I didn't quite understand that at the time as an assistant, but you really can't take every open shot. You have to move the ball and be more patient; especially if you have an advantage you have to take. We just didn't do that today.”

Senior Forward Nneka Enemkpali
On how the team is playing in conference games compared to non-conference:
“There has been a significance difference in the way we have been playing from non-conference going into conference. We tried to make it a point to emphasize how competitive it is going to be playing in the Big 12 and how aggressive you have to be playing different players in the Big 12. On any given night the opponent is going to compete and honestly we have not adjusted for how aggressive these teams are right now.”

On how the team will move forward:
“I see us looking for a team that we know we can be; looking for the team we once were. Right now we are not playing together. We are not playing to our capabilities and we are letting little things pull us apart. It is something that we need to figure out and get back together (as a team) because the rest of the season is really long.”

Junior Center Imani McGee-Stafford
On frustrations going from non-conference to conference games:
“Yes, I think losing is frustrating. I think what we are struggling with right now is that a lot of these games, the last two especially, we could have changed the outcome. It wasn't that we were defeated flat out; we were not executing, we were not moving, we were not doing what we needed to do.”