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BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 5, 2016

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma - 61, Oklahoma State - 43

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by the Oklahoma Sooners, Coach Sherri Coale, her two student-athletes, Vionise Pierre-Louis and Derica Wyatt.

Coach, your opening thoughts and congratulations.

COACH COALE: Thank you, I appreciate that. I thought our team played really, really hard today. I loved the energy and the determination, the perseverance that they showed in the second half. I thought they were really together and that's why we were able to defend and force 27 turnovers. That's not one guy taking the ball from one guy on Oklahoma State's team, that's Oklahoma guarding each other, and I was really, really proud of that and loved our energy and we have to quickly turn the page.

Q. Could both of you talk about the defensive ability today, you held their two leading scorers in check, held them to 33%. Could you talk about that a little bit? As well as you guys scored that's probably the key to the victory.
VIONISE PIERRE-LOUIS: For Kaylee Jensen or any post if they get 2 feet in the paint there is no way we're getting her out of there so our focus was getting her out of the paint. As far as Brittney Martin is concerned, Derica can confirm she is great going right -- I mean great going left, she is a great left hand finisher and I feel like they forced her right the whole game and took her out of her element.

Q. Derica?
DERICA WYATT: I would agree, the scouting report is take way her left, the girls that were on her, Gioya, Peyton, Maddie, did a tremendous job of jumping on her left. Obviously she is going to get her points but our attentive focus to Jensen and Martin.

VIONISE PIERRE-LOUIS: And flying around and helping each other out, too.

DERICA WYATT: Yeah.

Q. While playing hard for a long time it seemed like you weren't getting a whole lot out of this and Gioya converts that national 3-point play in the third quarter and it just seemed to change everything. Did it feel differently afterwards? When this happened what was that like?
VIONISE PIERRE-LOUIS: I feel like we just needed that momentum on our side. Like Gioya, we went back and forth, back and forth and traded turnovers and at one point we said we had to get a stop and score and when Gioya scored that bucket we noticed that we didn't get anything easy so we had to force it in the paint, force it in the paint but that moment was what we needed to keep it going.

DERICA WYATT: Gioya is like a spark for us; as soon as she gets going all of us jump on board. She got the and one, that look in her eye, that fist pump, let's go, that got all of us, even everyone on the bench hyped up and that's what changed the game.

Q. Derica, your three threes, it was a big boost. Talk about getting into a rhythm. I know you're a confident shooter anyway and you'll take on anybody in competition, but talk about hitting the threes today.
DERICA WYATT: You've just got to be ready what your number is called and I think that's how it was for me. Focused before the game, during the game, you never know, like I said, when your number is going to be called so I got in there and was wide open, so why not shoot it? TT and everybody did an amazing job of finding me when I was open so I give all the credit to them for that.

Q. Vionise, after losing both games this regular season, was this game really important for you guys for that reason, for the rivalry?
VIONISE PIERRE-LOUIS: It was important for our Oklahoma girls, we had to play together for them and coach being -- these two coaching against here other playing for Oklahoma, we had to show them -- I felt like we had to get back at them, first of all, giving us two losses I felt like this was our chance. They're not going to beat us three times.

Q. For both players, you've played, let's just say you do play Baylor in the next round? How much confidence do you have? You've played them tough before and seems like you've got a good home court advantage in this building?
DERICA WYATT: I mean I know all of us have tremendous confidence. My thing is we haven't played to our potential both times we've played them, so we know we can play ten times better than we played them the first time and even the second time.

Last time we played 'em, we had that, you know, surge in the third quarter, and I think that's momentum for us, honestly, and we're just ready to play 'em, whoever we get.

VIONISE PIERRE-LOUIS: Like she said, we're just ready, I'm ready to move on from this one and beat the next one.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, ladies, we will let you go back to the locker room. Now questions for Coach Coale.

Q. Sherri, you've talked a lot about your administration for Brittney Martin and I saw you talking to her after the game. What did you say to her?
COACH COALE: I told her it had been a privilege to compete against her because people who love basketball appreciate the way she plays it. She is really talented and I think she is going to be a great pro. I told her that as well. I think she is going to have a great professional career because she's very different. When she catches it, you know, I'm sure WNBA coaches will say, well, she can't shoot the three. Okay, fine, you can't keep her from scoring inside the arch. She has a really nice IQ for the game. She competes, she defends and just have a lot of respect for her.

Q. Sherri, could you get into the defensive game plan today and what happened? I know sometimes you break it down and just say go sick 'em, but it looked like you really focused on Jensen and Martin today?
COACH COALE: We knew we had to speed them up. They can't be real comfortable or else they run their stuff and they get it to Jensen or they get to Martin and then there is nothing you can do about it. Both of those guys, you have to limit the number of times they catch it and the places on the floor where they catch it. And if you can take them out of their sweet spots, Brittney's line is still good, but it's not the 35 line that can keep you from winning.

We didn't feel like the first two times we played them we had anybody that matched up super well with her, Sherene Campbell did in the past, and gave her problems. But we didn't have anybody that's the size and the speed and the strength to do the things that Sherene was able to do so we guard reasonable doubt her by committee and we switched a lot of stuff and let people have their turn at her and tried to play her tendencies. And with Jensen, it's about not letting her bury you because if she buries you, it's over.

Q. Sherri, I know you guys got hot from the three there at the end, but it seemed like you had success getting the ball down low. Were you able to do what you wanted to going in offensively throughout the game?
COACH COALE: Yes and no. We wanted to go inside. We wanted to attack. We got Jensen with a couple of fouls early and we wanted to try to -- then when she came out exploit and when she was in draw another foul and we got so locked up trying to do that that our offense had zero rhythm or cadence. It was just everybody standing and staring at the post. When we took that idea away and went toward something else, then we started being able to get the ball to the post more effectively.

But, you know, what happened is Patton doubled every time the post guy caught it and we didn't do a scroti job of exploiting that and moving on the backside, hence her 8 or 9 steals, however many she had. So yes and no. We had some possessions that were fantastic, we had some possessions that were very, very intentional and loved that.

Down the stretch, the final three and a half minutes of the game, handled it just as we needed to, so that they had no chance, milking the clock and getting down to the end and taking a great shot. So yes and no. We can play better offensively for sure, but I did see a lot of good things.

Q. Sherri, can you just describe what you saw and what you think came over your team after Gioya made that basket and that free-throw?
COACH COALE: You know, it was that play, Clay, and it was also defensive breakdown that we had prior to that where we didn't communicate on a switch and they got a basket, had a chance for an "is and one" and there was a team muddle in which Gioya was demonstrative and she set the tone and I told our team after the game the temperature changed, the temperature of our team changed at that moment, and she follows that with an and-one and suddenly we jump in her cape and here we go. But there is no doubt, Gioya Carter, Maddie Manning their intensity level determines what we do. No doubt.

Q. Had you not won this game, would we be talking about the way you began the game and the way you began the third quarter with long droughts and what can you do? How do you not let that happen tomorrow and beyond?
COACH COALE: I don't know. We've -- it's been a long season and we've had second quarter droughts and we've had fourth quarter droughts. We've had middle of third quarter droughts, so I don't think there is anything significant about starting the game slow and then coming out of halftime slow. I just think sometimes it happens. We didn't lose, so per your question, we don't have to talk about it (Laughter.)

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. We will see you tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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