Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU vs. TCU Postgame Quotes
January 24, 2015 | Cowgirl Basketball
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
OSU Head Coach Jim Littell
Opening Statement
"You don't have to look very far to see the difference in the game, points off turnovers, I don't know how many careless passes we through that resulted in layups for them, but I thought that was the difference in the game. You can't do that against a good team. TCU is a tough matchup for us in the fact that they put five athletic kids out on the floor that can score off the dribble. I believe they're leading the Big 12 in 3-point shooting. When you go over the scouting report and you look and every one of them are shooting 38 to 40-plus percent from the three it's a hard matchup for us. Hamilton is a really good player for them and Zahna Medley's a good player. They're a very experienced team that has started most of those kids since their freshman year and now they're all juniors and seniors. They struggled a little at Iowa State and we knew they were going to come in and play with a sense of urgency and they did, they shot the ball extremely well. Thought we would play better in the second half, but you can't make the mistakes that we made and expect to win the game."
On TCU's 10-0 run to end the 1st half
"They switched some screens on us, we didn't execute the way we needed to. I thought we got a little careless with the basketball and when you start missing some shots I think it affects you on the defensive end. We weren't as sharp as we needed to. We came out in a little 2-2-1 press to start the ball game and I thought it gave them some problems. Just finish the last five minutes of the half, it's been an Achilles heel that we've had all year long of going in scoring droughts and it's a product of either turning it over or missing some shots that are good shots."
On losing three games consecutively
"Every game is a sense of urgency in this league especially after you drop two at home and haven't played particularly well. If you want to be a tournament team, if you want to be an upper-division team there needs to be improvement in practice and there needs to be a sense of urgency. You can't keep dropping games at home that you have a chance to win. TCU is very talented and we look up and we have 6-3 guarding a 5-11, 6-1 guard. They're playing five guards and it's a tough matchup for us. They didn't shoot the ball at Iowa State well and we came out in the zone, they come out and light it up today."
On team's energy level
"I thought our energy level at the end was very good. At the end of the first half it wasn't where it needed to be. I thought we started the game, but there was a span about five or six minutes that the energy level wasn't good and it wasn't good basketball. Sometimes when things are going a little rocky for you it affects other parts of the game. I'm proud of the way we finished, came back and had an opportunity to close within two or four points and we just have build off of that."
On Brittany Atkins
"It's meniscus, sometimes you're able to shave that and be back in three to six weeks, but that isn't the case. It's more extensive than that and she will be lost for the season."
On the team playing without Atkins
"Somebody else has to step up. I've never, ever used injuries or illness as an excuse. You have to be good enough as a basketball team that somebody comes up and picks up the slack and we need to do it collectively. It can't be one person, just come up and say we're averaging two or four points and now we're averaging 10 or 11, that isn't the nature of it. We have to do it collectively and a lot of these kids came here to play basketball and they're going to have an opportunity and they need to seize that opportunity."
On Lakota Beatty
"Lakota made a nice pass, got out and got a bucket on transition, had four assists. I thought she played relatively well. We're searching a little bit, I thought she was a bright spot. She had some defensive lapses, she did some things well on the offensive end and then there were some defensive lapses on the other end. You have to be complete on both ends. I thought she gave us some energy. You don't have to look any further and we made a little bit of a comeback when she was on the floor."
On Kaylee Jensen
"She is two for three on the year now and we've worked on it with her a little bit. That's one of those things when it goes in everyone is hooping and hollering and when you miss badly on the next one everyone is like what are you doing letting her shoot that. It's a two-sided sword. She has a nice touch on the ball and I'm not going to tell her that she can't shoot that.
Brittney Martin
On TCU's shooting performance
"It's just crazy that every team comes in here and shoots lights out. I don't know what it is about this gym, but everybody shoots lights out. In the first half there wasn't as much of an emphasis, but after half time we needed to get out of our zone defense. I think that was a big focus, that we needed to play straight up."
On Oklahoma State's shooting struggles
"I'm just tired of our inconsistency. Everybody is in the gym. That's the thing. We're all shooting and taking extra time to shoot. Our shots just aren't going in and it's frustrating because we're all working hard on it."
On opposing defensive strategies
"Liz shoots 3-pointers, so everybody is running out on her. I think sometimes we just focus too much in practice on her shooting 3-pointers and shooting open 3-pointers, when obviously they know what she does and what she's good at."
On Kaylee Jensen
"She works her butt off. She works her butt off in practice and in games and that's what we need her for, to get rebounds and putbacks. I think she's doing a good job. She's working on her own and in practice. She just works hard."
On the upcoming Big 12 schedule
"We're just focusing on the little things that we keep doing wrong. I think if we keep working on those and doing those things in practice, then that's how we can win games and play together."
On moving forward without Brittany Atkins
"We have a long bench with a lot of guards. We have nice backups. It's a big loss for us, but Kay (Jensen) comes in and makes shots plays as hard as she can. Lakota played well today. I think we'll be ok. It's sad and it's a big loss because she scored ten points per game. I think we have a lot of girls who can come in and score those points."
Kaylee Jensen
On getting the offense going
"I think it's a confidence level type of thing, so I feel like if their shots are falling, that will make their game just that much better. It's just a confidence level type of thing."
On competing for playing time
"I like to learn from each of the other two (Mandy Coleman and LaShawn Jones). It's a competition, but it's just bettering us as players because we just feed off each other and battle each other in practice to make ourselves better."
TCU Head Coach Raegan Pebley
Opening Statement
"We just feel really fortunate that we were able to get this win. I know you guys probably hear it from every coach that comes in here that it's just so hard in this conference to get wins on the road. On top of it, I know we don't match up well to Oklahoma State and we are really concerned about those mismatches. But, it was a game of runs. They went on runs, we went on runs. Luckily, they finished the game being the team on the run, but time ran out and we'll feel very fortunate about that."
On finishing the first half strong
"Well I think we finished the first half with six stops in a row and we just implored our team to get consecutive stops. We've haven't been practicing very well, prior to preparation for this game and we really kind of had a refocus for our team heading into this game and we were able to get a couple of great practices in, very competitive, working on just some fundamental things that we do, talking a lot about consecutive stops. As a coach, it feels good when your team is doing what you ask them, makes you look kind of smart, but it's really there effort, they found another fuel tank in them to finish that half of with style."
On rebounding from an 8-0 deficit early
"Well, it's like part of the course for us. We just have had really tough starts, for the most part in conference, but the one thing I tell our team all the time is that "When you have effort, when you've got a lot of heart, when you believe in each other. As long as there is enough time, no lead is insurmountable," and at that point, eight points doesn't intimidate them. They know they can create there momentum, they just have to find consecutive stops."
On limiting Donohoe and Johnson offensively
"Well, a few of them I think Liz just missed some shots, so I don't know if it was anything special we did. I think with Johnson we just really tried to make things hard for her. I'd say the same thing with her (Johnson), she was 3-for-12, so it wasn't like we stopped her from finding shot attempts. But, we did just try and make them want to work hard for it. I think our off-ball defense was better then it has been in the last few games, so then ideally they weren't getting the ball in positions where they were comfortable."
