Postgame Quotes
Feb. 29, 2012
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Postgame Quotes
Kansas 63, Oklahoma State 66
February 29, 2012
Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson
Opening Statement:
“I want to talk about being in a one possession league all year and we make too many mistakes and things that we can control. It comes down to making plays at the end and we don’t and they do. (Tiffany) Bias refuses on a ball screen and we foul. Bias got into us and was aggressive and made free throws when it counted. “
On The possession with Natalie Knight at the end of the game:
“Everyone is an option there, we do not need a three, it’s just a two point game. We run a play that we run and she is the first guy off and she goes up the middle but there is a flare screen happening for Aishah (Sutherland), then Aishah is the shape up so you have action on the week side. Natalie could have dribbled it out to an on-ball screen then attacked and be a aggressive. It’s a play that has a three but it spaces everyone. She is able to drive the middle. There is also an option to go to Angel off the flare screen. I realize when she goes down there why she doesn’t shoot it because she has (Vicky) McIntyre a 6-6 kid on her and its fine to loop that back out, but she picks it up. We always say if you’re going to start aggressive then finish aggressive.”
On how hard it is to celebrate senior night on a loss like this:
“Yeah, I mean it is hard for all of us, but it certainly doesn’t diminish her career here, obviously. It’s hard to celebrate in the moment. You can tell on all of the faces including Aishah’s (Sutherland). It’s hard to celebrate when you do not finish.”
On how Sutherland played:
“I thought she played well and carried us there in the beginning. She hit tough shots and really helped us when she hit the two in the second half, then they called a timeout. I asked her if she should settle for that shot and she says, ‘no’. I said, ‘it’s time to counter it with a rip and drive’. It’s to the growth of her to be able to hit a couple and then drive in and tip in tough offensive rebounds. Now we need to make some plays around her.”
On players getting injured in the last few years:
“We have had six ACL’s to five different kids and three of those five kids are pros. Honest to goodness truth, it’s not an excuse, but injuries affect success, which affects recruiting. That’s the reality of it. The hardest part for me is to watch those kids go down. I have had six lousy days at Kansas, when those six players got hurt. Talk about an impact in your program when you have three pros get injured, one in January and two in February, it’s hard.”
On how you can get over the hump of players getting hurt:
“It’s frustrating for everybody, those kids and everybody else, because you’re in the talented and most difficult league and you have got to regroup as quick as you can. With three players that are important for the success of your programs to get hurt, it is hard.”
On the lead changes and going back and forth in the game:
“It went back and forth for sure, we went up nine, then turned the ball over, then back up eleven, then turned it over again and it gave them momentum on the Bias steal and layup. Then they are ripping jump shots and we can’t score. We talked about how important it is for us to penetrate and put it on the floor whether it was a zone or a man and we had a lot of success there and at Texas Tech. I thought we took primary looks away down the stretch but then they just put it down on the floor and went to the rim.”
Kansas senior forward Aishah Sutherland
On the emotions of having her parents at the game for senior night:
“There were a lot of emotions. I was happy to have them come see me out here and play since they aren’t able to see me play a lot, being all the way in California. I just stayed focus and was really focused on winning this game, but there were a lot of emotions being my last game in Allen Fieldhouse and just wanting to win it so bad in front of my parents.”
On scoring the team’s first three baskets after halftime:
“I was kind of slow in the first half, so the second half I wanted to pick it up and get some points. They didn’t pressure me as much on my shot, so I shot it and made it.”
On the team losing five of its last six games:
“It hurts a lot. We just need to look at the next game. There’s nothing we can do about this game. We need to focus on the next game and win that one.”
Kansas junior guard Angel Goodrich
On losing to Oklahoma State:
“What hurts the most is that we had a nine-point lead. You look up there (at the scoreboard) and have a nine-point lead, and the next second they were up by two. Things like that, with the teams in this league you can’t do that. Once you go on a run, you have to continue that run. You have to continue to attack. You can’t hesitate. You can’t settle or anything like that. If you do, things like this happen. They keep fighting. They keep pushing. You can’t stop doing what got you that lead.”
On if there is a sense of desperation going into the next game:
“It’s very desperate, and we should have been desperate tonight. It’s very disappointing that it didn’t really feel like it. We put ourselves into a hole now. We have to win this next game. You have to come in with a sense of urgency, even in practice. It starts with practice. If it’s flat in practice, how are you going to do it in a game? You play like you practice, so you have to come in, practice and get ready.”
On guarding Tiffany Bias:
“She’s a good point guard. She drives it to the hole. She’s very fast. She’s bouncy. We’d stop her, but then she’d get it to the open guy. She just pushed.”
On leading the team with 11 rebounds:
“I didn’t know I had 11 rebounds, but it did feel like it ended up in my hands quite a bit. I just wanted to be able to rebound. If not, not let my guy get the ball. It’s just the mindset that if I don’t get it, my guy’s not going to get it.”
Oklahoma State head coach Jim Littell
On the play of sophomore guard Tiffany Bias:
“I thought she was willing to make the big shots and take shots with the game on the line. She obviously hit some big free throws down the stretch going eight-for-eight. She had 26 (points), eight assists and only three turnovers in 40 minutes, I thought it was a great performance on her part. I really enjoyed watching her play and have the courage to step up and take tough shots and make plays with the game on the line.”
On falling behind to Kansas by nine points:
“We were giving them four shots on the basket on different occasions and they are just too good to give them that many opportunities. We started blocking out a little better at the end but even their go-ahead basket at the end was a put-back. I’m proud of our kids for finding a way to win. When you give up 17 offensive boards on the road that is not usually conducive to winning but we did make some plays and found a way to win. This is a step for our team beating an experienced team with some very good players. We have only had two road wins this year and I don’t believe we had a road win last year.”
On the 22 lead changes in the game:
“When you are allowing them to get easy shots on the basket with put-backs on offensive rebounds the leads are going to fluctuate quite a bit. Looking at the stats of the game, the stats are almost identical in almost every line category so that tells me there were two even teams playing tonight.”
On Kansas senior forward Aishah Sutherland:
“She is tough. She has the ability to have the mid-range game; she can take you off the dribble; she can go down and post you low. She is a very good player and since Carolyn Davis got hurt, (Sutherland’s) touches have increased and her shots have increased and she has stepped up and played very well. I am glad she is graduating, to be honest, because she is a handful and she’s very difficult to guard.”
Oklahoma State sophomore guard Tiffany Bias
On the victory:
“I couldn’t expect more from my team. I think that we were fired up and ready to play. I saw in everyone’s eyes that we were focused in this game.”
On avenging a loss to KU from earlier in the season:
“I think we had a lot (of confidence). You never want to get swept in the Big 12; you want to come back and get a win. And especially when you are the away team it is always hard. I think that we came out ready and we knew the game plan. Our coaches did a great job scouting the team on what we had to do.”
On if they were nervous overcoming a nine-point deficit:
“I think we were kind of getting a little frantic for a second but we need to settle down and say ‘hey, we can come back and score just as well as they did.’ I think we did a great job of just coming back point by point and not trying to get it all at one time.”
On her perfect performance from the free-throw line:
“I have been struggling with my free throws in the last couple games and coach just told me to get in the gym and shoot a lot of shots every day, so that’s what I have been doing. I have been in the gym knocking down free throws, making sure I had the right rotation and everything.”
Oklahoma State sophomore center Vicky McIntyre
On her contribution to the team this season:
“I’ve been keeping at the grindstone and just working and looking for when my opportunity would come.”
On playing against the physical play of Kansas senior forward Aishah Sutherland:
“I just came in to the game really calm and focused on what I needed to do and I didn’t hesitate.”
On facing up to the basket on offense:
“I’ve just been in the playbook trying to find what is best for me.”
