Postgame Quotes

Feb. 21, 2007

Recap | Final Stats | Notes |

Kansas Postgame Quotes
Oklahoma 76, Kansas 70
Feb. 21, 2007

Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson

On seniors Sharita Smith and Shaquina Mosley:
“They have brought tremendous energy and tremendous consistency. They do that as well as any two that I have had in a long time. They represent this University in a manner that we all want. They do a good job in the classroom and in the community, and they are good kids. They have been good for our young kids. Our young kids have learned a lot of lessons from those two.”

On the game:
“I thought we tried to make the most of opportunities in transition. I thought we made the extra pass. We did a good job of making plays off the dribble and getting to the rim or getting a pull-up jumper. I thought we played with a lot of poise. You can say it was too much (Courtney) Paris, but I say it was too much (Brittany) Brown. We have talked to (Mosley) about being like Brittany Brown in transition. The world knows about Courtney Paris, but we have to recognize that we need to be good on everyone else. We need to be solid, and we weren’t.”

On KU’s attitude:
“There are no moral victories in this program. We show up and lace `em up to win. We were trying to build some momentum off the (Kansas State) win — trying to win two straight. I thought they made a couple more plays down the stretch than we did.”

On the remaining games:
“We have to build some momentum. There were some things we did well today, and we are going to try and get two (wins) on the road — one at a time. We still have a chance to get out of where we are in the (Big 12) standings. There is a lot of movement that will go in in these last few games in the conference — from those at the top and those of use who aren’t at the top. We still have something to play for. Anybody who doesn’t think so is crazy.”

Kansas Player Quotes

Senior guard Shaquina Mosley
On Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris:

“She is so strong and dominant in the post. It is really hard to stop her. Our guards were trying to pressure the ball so it didn’t go in as often or as easy. We tried to give our posts a chance to get in position to stop the play.”

On the game:
“We were trying to double the posts off of our guards to get into position for good rebounds. I think we just kept fouling and that is where we got into trouble.”

On her best memory at Allen Fieldhouse:
“Beating Kansas State was my best memory. The history between the two programs is huge. We knew they were going to play hard and it was a really good game that went into double overtime. We had a lot of fun out there.”

Senior guard Sharita Smith
On the game:

“I think we played pretty well, but we still have some things to work on. It was a one-possession game and we just have to finish strong.”

On Oklahoma’s Britney Brown:
“She did a really good job coming off the bench and scoring the points that she need to to score for her team. Our perimeter players just have to do a better job, step up and contain penetration.”

On the upcoming two games:
“I think it would mean a lot if we could get a couple of wins. We really have not had a postseason since we have been here, with the exception of last year. I think it would be huge for this program to come out with a bang with these last two games and who knows what we will do in the Big Twelve.”

Freshman guard Sade Morris
On playing against Oklahoma:

“It was fun to play against old teammates and people that I know. You look at it like any other game. We are friends off the court, but on the court it’s different. I just wish that we could have come out with a win.”

On the upcoming two games:
“We know that if we go out there and play hard and play great defense we will come out with a win. We know that if we pressure like we did in this game we can go out and win these next two games.”

Oklahoma Coach and Player Quotes
Head Coach Sherri Coale
On the game:

“Give a lot of credit to the Kansas Jayhawks tonight. I thought they fought and scrapped and competed on every single possession for 40 minutes. Bonnie (Henrickson) is doing a terrific job with these young kids and they play really hard for her. They played with great energy and emotion all night long. They played with pride for their seniors that you can tell they will miss. They did a terrific job and we were fortunate enough to make enough plays down the stretch to win the game. It was a battle for 40 minutes. “

On if there was letdown playing at last place Kansas:
“I would hope not. We have six seniors on our team that are mature enough to know that you have to be ready to play every single night. I think our kids have a great deal of respect for Kansas. They saw them beat Kansas State this past weekend and they know they are playing well and free. I think we were ready for them.”

On Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson:
“She is a terrific coach. She does a great job. Her demeanor with them is outstanding. She knows that they are young and that they are working hard for her. They play tenacious defense. If there is one thing that defines her time here is how hard they compete defensively. It was obvious tonight, how people are embracing her and her kids. It is loud here. I can only imagine how loud this place is for a men’s basketball game. It was really loud tonight with only three-to-four thousand fans here. This has to be a tough place to play. She is obviously a perfect fit for this institution.”

On the frantic early pace:
“For awhile I thought it was going to be 100 to 100. I did not think anybody was going to guard anybody. The shooting percentages felt like they were off the charts, but they were lay-ups so they should have been. We had to shore up our defensive transition. We got better at that as the game went on. Shaq (Mosley) causes all kinds of problems. If you pick her up too early she goes right by you, and if you wait and pick her up a little deeper, she has a full head of steam and she’s real hard to handle.”

On Courtney Paris:
“The numbers speak for themselves. And yet from the free-throw line, she is a much better free-throw shooter than what she shot tonight. She’s been improving in that area and she missed some field goals when she got fouled that we are accustomed to her making when she gets fouled and getting the `And 1.’ She could have easily pushed that point total up to 40-something. She is a dominant force. And what I liked most about her performance tonight was when push came to shove and we had to have a basket, there was not one soul in the gym who had a wrong impression of where we were going with the basketball. Everybody knew and we were still able to get the ball to Courtney. If we could just do that earlier in the game, we would not be in that situation.”

Senior Guard Britney Brown
On playing big minutes tonight:
“We are all going to be ready anytime our number is called. We will just go out there and try and do whatever we can to help our team. I knew that we could push the ball in transition and get easy lay-ups if we tried to and that’s what I tried to do. I tried to bring energy.”

Sophomore Center Courtney Paris
On Kansas:

“They played great and hard. They have great senior leadership. They are getting better, which I think is exciting for them, especially after losing those games to start conference. They were fun to play against.”

On Oklahoma’s size advantage:
“We knew that they did not start a player over 5’11” so we had the size advantage. But I felt like they did a good job. They hustled and were scrappy. They did as tough as a job as they could, but in the end we were just bigger than them.”

On taking pride in her passing:
“I think it is important. As I get older, it will become a big part of my game. Coach talks to me about it all the time, and I do not think I have tapped into my passing ability yet. That is definitely something that I have to learn to get better at.”