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BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 6, 2016

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Baylor - 84, Oklahoma - 57

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by the Oklahoma Sooners, Coach Sherri Coale and her two student-athletes, Maddie Manning and Gioya Carter. Coach, your thoughts about tonight's game?

COACH COALE: I thought Baylor played really well. They have a terrific team, and they played well today. Their shooting numbers were fantastic and ours weren't so good and we lost to a better team.

Q. Gioya, if you would go first then Maddie, seemed like it took a lot of time for you guys to get into the flow. I thought you got into the flow quicker in the third than in the first or the second. Why do you think that was?
GIOYA CARTER: I think we were just sped up from trying to -- just trying to get it to the post or not cutting off the post or just not looking for what we wanted, and we were sped up most of the time. So I think that's what probably got us into not making shots or getting a turnover.

MADDIE MANNING: I would say we were affected and that led to a lot of standing and watching, throwing the ball to the post and standing and watching, like Gioya said.

Q. Gioya, the way that they keep comin' at you in waves, their depth, how does that affect things? How did you see it affect you guys today?
GIOYA CARTER: I mean, in defensive transition they got out and ran and we didn't get back. So I think they hit you in waves that way pretty good. I think that was the biggest thing.

Q. Maddie, then Gioya, you mentioned standing around. I wonder, maybe that's the answer but is there any one thing where the game got away from you? They seemed to be very good for four quarters. Can you pinpoint anything or was it sort of everything a little bit for four quarters?
MADDIE MANNING: I would say defensive transition. That's what got 'em going. That's what got their confidence going. They come at you. Everybody is going full board and you've got to get back and guard them in transition and that's what got them going tonight.

GIOYA CARTER: I would agree with Maddie. Their defensive transition and we didn't get back and we didn't make shots, either. So, yeah, I would agree with Maddie.

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, congratulations on a great season. Good luck in the NCAAs.

Q. Sherri, talk about the first half offensively. Was it just a matter of making shots? It looked like you were trying to -- watching your expression and your time outs, what you were trying to get them to run an offense or get into their offense?
COACH COALE: I thought initially the fact that we didn't get back and guard is what started this slippery slope of going down the hill and we've seen that happen a number of times this year in that when we get shocked by something, another team making great plays or fouls not being called or guys running in transition with advantage, whatever. It could be 50 different things. It takes our focus away from what our strategy is, and we could not every get all five guys no matter who we substituted on the same page in terms of our strategy offensively or defensively.

It began early. We got shocked in transition and Maddie got a couple of great offensive boards and they poked it lose and we know that's what they do. They go after you. No matter what, you've got to be able to hang on to the basketball. And from that point forward I felt like we were disheveled and like a boxer who got his bell rung for a little bit. They continued to play well and we never recovered.

Q. Sherri, when you have Peyton only scoring 2 points and she is one of your bigger scorers, there have been a lot of games like that for her this year, when she doesn't get going how much does that affect what you guys are trying to do?
COACH COALE: Obviously, she is a starter. She leads us in minutes played. So obviously we need her scoring and we need her being aggressive. I think that could go across the board though. Gioya and Maddie didn't score either. KK kicked it back out every time she got it. So it's not just her but we have fared well when she is making baskets.

Q. Sherri, just looking ahead from here. What do you think are the big areas of focus that you guys need to look at going into the NCAA Tournament?
COACH COALE: Obviously defensive transition was pretty poor this afternoon. So we have to do a better job at that. Understanding that feeding the post is a part of the whole of what we do. I didn't think that our shots tonight came from within the confines of our offense. It was like a post feed was an end-all instead of a process piece of the offense. So we have to continue to play through that.

Overall this week we've gotten better. I thought we played really well yesterday, and I think weave still got room to grow and learn and keep getting better before the NCAA Tournament. So I feel good about what we can do going forward.

Q. The shooting percentage, the numbers are what they are. But how much was that because they have a lot of depth and their posts, seemed like when you did have open looks from your post players they altered shots, made it difficult for you to get into an offensive flow?
COACH COALE: There is absolutely no doubt. They're huge inside, one of the biggest teams in the country! And they substitute with guys who are just as big as the ones that are out there. So obviously that affected our shooting percentage and Tiny goes 1 one of 11. While she is not necessarily known as being a shooter, she gets to the rim and finishes layups all the time. You've got to think that some of those misses are because she thinks it's going to get swatted in the fifth row or she is going to get landed on or she is going to get hip-checked or something.

So it does affect what you do. But at the same time, that's where we have to grow is with our poise. And that's where extra passes hurt teams like that and that's where lift fakes, sharing the ball, moving it around the perimeter. And that's where we have to improve is in our poise.

Q. You said you thought you got better this week and you won three straight games prior to this. Does what happen today -- is it a hard thing to get over? Does it derail that progress or perhaps time is the only answer? How do you think your team will respond?
COACH COALE: It's like everything, Clay, it's a decision that individuals make and collective decisions that teams make. It could go either way but our team has responded heroically to every piece of diversity, so every time they've slipped and fell, they've come back swinging' and I don't expect any different. They're character kids and they love each other and they want to represent this institution in the right way, so they will be ready to go.

Q. Coming back to the players being aggressive and scoring, I think there was a point in the first half where I heard you say to Maddie, I need you to be a score er, has that been a frustration in terms of being aggressive and getting points with some of these players?
COACH COALE: Yeah, because I see what Maddie is capable of and she puts in a lot of time in the gym and I actually said to her at a time-out, there is a reason you put all that time in the gym so that you can come make plays when you play in front of people and everybody is keeping score. Don't negate that effort that you put in. You have to be convicted about what you can do out here.

So, yeah, we've got to individually grow in our offensive consciousness.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, congratulations. Good luck in the NCAAs.

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