Baylor, Oklahoma State, WBB Postgame Quotes

Jan. 3, 2015

Recap | Box Score | Notes | Baylor Photos | USATI Photos

6/5 BAYLOR 61 (12-1/1-0), 18/14 OKLAHOMA STATE 45 (10-2/0-1)
Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015
Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas)
Attendance: 6,403

BAYLOR POSTGAME QUOTES

BAYLOR HEAD COACH Kim Mulkey
On going to the press after being down 10...
"Well that's what we did against Michigan State. Now we weren't down near as much, but early in the game I inserted Kristy Wallace. Now Kristy just has an energy about her that makes everybody else think they're quick. I've got a team where I've got not-so-quick players and quick players and they all do something that can help us. I just thought we were behind quickly and just needed her energy. She can hit some big shots for you and help Niya bring the ball up the floor."

On getting a glimpse a defense ready to compete for championships...
"I do see glimpses of it. That's what I've told this team. I've told them I can't fault our effort. My team's going to play hard. It's listening and focusing when you're in conference now and sometimes that hard for them to do because they're used to rolling the ball around out there and playing in high school, and I think I was told if I remember correctly that Oklahoma State only scored two points in the last eleven and half minutes. When we went to pressing I told them in a time out that they weren't going to get back in the game on one or two possessions, even if you don't steal it and score. What you're going to do late in the game is you're going to cause them to get fatigued. I thought all those shots they made in the first half that they were missing in the second half are attributed to our wearing them down a little bit with the press."

On forcing the turnovers from OSU...
"It is big. KK has such length at the front of that press and trapping with us. Niya hit the ball from behind one time. Things like that--you're just active. The press has been good for us, and what I've learned from the press is people who I didn't think could maybe run the press can do it. It's allowed me to put people in the situation. I had Suni and I had Prince in the press, and they're not fleet of foot but they figure it out. The press was definitely effective again today."

On staying within striking distance in the first half... "First of all, in the first half we got down and we'd cut the lead or tie it and then they'd go on another run. I don't want to say let them, but for whatever reason they'd make another shot or two. Being down six at the half is not ideal and it's not what you want. I thought we missed some layups. I thought we rushed some shots, particularly Christina and Suni but we're going to grow. Every game that we can play we're going to get better and better. We're going to get everybody's best shot. When we start a game everybody's going to play great because of that Baylor name across your chest. That's respect and I welcome it because it's going to make us a better basketball team as we grow."

BAYLOR FORWARD Nina Davis
On her different energy in the second half...
"I would definitely say it was a mindset in the second half. We knew that we were down and we knew that they weren't missing many shots in the first half. We knew we had to pick up our energy and do something. I had missed a lot of free throws--way too many--but my teammates do an outstanding job of encouaraging me and telling me to keep my head up. I just go off their energy, and I knew my team needed me so I tried to do what I could."

On closing faster in the second half...
"We were just more active. We just came out with more energy. We're just a team that doesn't want to lose. We are just a team that's going to give our all. We have a lot of fight--I guess you could call it grind. We just have to grind because we know every team is going to give us their best."

BAYLOR GUARD Niya Johnson
On what it showed the team to come back and win convincingly...
"Going into the half we had no worries. We were just keeping our heads up and encouraging each other. Second half we knew we just had to bring some energy and press them a little bit. We played with heart and we took the lead once again."

On how much energy Baylor got from the press...
"We just fed off of KK's energy--just her pressuring the ball. We fed off each other and just kept pushing and pushing."

OKLAHOMA STATE HEAD COACH JIM LITTELL
Opening Statement:
"We probably should have loaded up the gear at the 14 minute mark and headed home. I am really disappointed in the way we finished the basketball game, but you have got to give Baylor credit. They are long, they are athletic, they have a lot of depth and they keep running people at you. I think we got worn down the last 14 or 15 minutes of the game. I thought we played extremely hard, and played extremely well the first 25 or 26 minutes of the game. When you score two points the last 14 minutes of the game you are not going to have an opportunity to beat a quality team like Baylor on their home floor. One thing that concerned me going into the game was how we were going to rebound the ball. I was pretty pleased with the rebounding numbers for the most part, especially in the first half. I thought we did a great job of blocking out and limiting them to one shot. They had four offensive rebounds at halftime. We got passive on their press and started throwing the ball east and west instead of looking down the floor; that was probably what turned the game. I thought we had a lot of easy shots where we set a ball screen and came to the elbow and we just didn't make shots. If you are going to upset a quality team at a top five or six program you have to make those shots. Our shot takers and our shot makers are usually Roshunda Johnson and Brittney Martin and they went 3-11 and 4-16 and for the most part I thought they were quality shots and the ball just didn't go in. I have to give Baylor credit for their length and how they guard and the things that they do. They are a special team. No question I think this is probably her deepest team and probably the best rebounding team she has had since I've been here.

On if they have had a shooting drought like that before:
"Yeah, we have had them. We had one at USC and at North Carolina. We get that way when we don't reverse the ball and we start taking shots off of a pass and one screen. When we start doing that we have to have more patience within our offense. When you shoot the ball quickly, you have no chance to get offensive rebounds as well. It is hard to a player who is open at the free throw line, when they come off a screen not to shoot it. It is hard to tell them that, but when weren't making it we should have probably tried to reverse it and go inside a little bit more to LaShawn Jones, who had been effective prior to that 14-minute mark.

On if they were getting quality shots at the end of the game:
"I felt like for the most part we were. Brittney Martin had numerous shots at the elbow. Roshunda Johnson had numerous shots that we normally make. The difference is they close quick. They are athletic and they are long and they probably close quicker than what we normally see. That was probably the difference in the game. I am not taking anything away from what Baylor did. They held us to two points in the last 14 minutes. The more we started missing I thought it started effecting us down on the defensive end. I don't care what anybody says if you start missing shots it effects you down on the defensive end and that is what happened as well.