Postgame Quotes
Feb. 14, 2009
Postgame Quotes
Oklahoma 69, Kansas 54
February 14, 2009 – Lawrence, Kan.
Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
On the game:
“I thought we rushed and never had very good rhythm in the first half. We got some high percentage shots and missed some high percentage shots. We altered our shots and tough players don’t alter their shots, they shot fake if they need it. As a shooter you should focus on the rim and focus on the square. We didn’t do that. We missed some wide open shots by rushing. What magnified that was that we only had five offensive boards and shot 19% from the field. You have to go pursue the basketball if you are only going to shoot 19%. Aishah (Sutherland) and Nicollette (Smith) had every offensive board between them.”
On Oklahoma’s runs during the game:
“We didn’t defend the three well and that let them feel good about themselves early. I thought defensively, other than the threes, we played well. It was our offense that cost us in the first half and not our defense. I think we shot the ball a little bit better in the second half, but not a whole lot better.”
On what separates Oklahoma’s defense from other teams in the Big 12:
“They trap and they trap a lot on the first pass. We turned it over not even putting the ball on the floor and would try to get fouled. In the 1-3-1 we had poor point guard play; we make bad decisions instead of being aggressive to get out of that. Those kids that had the responsibility didn’t take care of the ball and we made a lot of bad decisions because of the trap.”
Junior guard LaChelda Jacobs
On breaking down the game:
“In the first half Ashley Paris made a lot of jumpers. We scouted her that way. We went on a run and then had a lot of turnovers.”
On what they need to improve on:
“There are a lot of things. We need to improve our ball-handling and we need to be smarter. When I came in I had a couple of good passes to Nicollette (Smith). We need to play like that more often.”
Junior guard Danielle McCray
On rough stretches in the game:
“We let them score. We need to buckle down and know that we need to find our shots.”
On starting the game slowly:
“At first we were just rushing our shots. We would get it in the paint and alter our layups. At first I think they were making us play faster, but once we got our heart rate down we started making shots.”
Junior guard Sade Morris
On the team’s performance:
“I think we did a good job getting out there and doing what we’re supposed to. We gave up some shots.”
On the loss:
“They beat us in transition. They’re a really, really good team in transition. That’s what killed us. We can’t let that happen.”
Freshman forward Aishah Sutherland
On shooting poorly:
“They are shot blockers. I didn’t know I was going to have to elevate so high, but if I didn’t they would block my shot. I was changing my shot because they were there and that’s how I missed my shots.”
On what they need to improve on:
“We need improvement on defense and with our consistency. We will do stuff on the offensive end and then not on the defensive end.”
Oklahoma Head Coach Sherri Coale
On the game:
“Every win in the Big 12 Conference is a good win and we’ll sure take this one. I didn’t think that we played nearly as well as we’re capable and I didn’t think that we played with a great deal of energy. But we have been on quite an emotional swing and we have had a number of really big time games back-to-back-to-back. The conference season is so long that you’re bound to have some swoons where you’re energy isn’t at an all-time high. So to be able to win in double-digit fashion on the road in the league on a sub-part night is big time. I think it shows the talent level for our team, and not just with our starting five but with our bench as well. So I’m really happy with the win.”
On Danielle McCray:
“She is really good. I think she is the best player in the league that nobody ever has ever heard of. Nobody ever talks about her. She is really hard to guard and she creates a lot of different scenarios for teams. We did a good job of contesting and that always lowers the shooting percentage a little bit.”
On scoring in the paint:
“I haven’t seen a shot chart, but the stat sheet that I see here says that we score 36 points in the paint. I think as much as anything that was lay-ups and their post defense not wanting to help as much because of the fear of dumping the ball off to one of our posts. We’ve done a really good job of extra passing when we’ve gotten into the lane. So the points in the paint came a little differently than we’re accustomed to.”
Junior Forward Amanda Thompson
On the game:
“I just had to take what I learned from last (the last game I played) and react to it. It felt good to make some shots today and play like I can.”
Senior Forward Ashley Paris
On holding Kansas’ offense is check:
“I just think we’re really big and athletic. I think they had trouble scoring over our size. They did get to the basket and get fouled a few times, but I think for the most part it was our size advantage.”
