NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - MIAMI HURRICANES VS OKLAHOMA STATE

March 18, 2023

Jacie Hoyt

Naomie Alnatas

Lexy Keys

Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall

Oklahoma State Cowgirls

Media Conference

Miami 62, Oklahoma State 61

JACIE HOYT: It's hard to talk after a loss like that. I think the biggest thing outside of the outcome of the game is that I'm incredibly proud of that this team has accomplished this season.

God has just blessed me in ways that have surpassed my wildest dreams. Getting to be the head coach at Oklahoma State is truly the honor of my lifetime. I'm so proud of what we built. God blessed me with amazing players to get to share in the journey with.

That's why I hurt so bad and why we all hurt, because we just love each other so much. This year has been so incredibly special. I can't imagine a better first year in terms of what we were able to accomplish. The fact that we're sitting here when no one thought that we would be finish higher than ninth in our conference, let alone in the NCAA tournament.

So I'm incredibly proud of that. I'm so grateful to our fan base who has embraced and loved us and supported us. That's what I'm holding my head high on and that's what I'm going to encourage our players to hold their head high, because this was an amazing year and an amazing journey and I know this is just the start for Cowgirl basketball.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes?

Q. Naomie, could you just talk me through the last sequence and what you saw, and did you think you got a look that was going in the basket when you shot it?

NAOMIE ALNATAS: I mean, yeah, of course. I did go to the basket to score it. It didn't end up the way I wanted and that's just it, that's basketball. Sometimes you step in the ring and it's either you win or you get knocked out.

I don't know, somehow, some way, I don't know how, but I'll just have to find a way to let that fuel me and not just kill me. I still have faith and have trust in God's plan. I know he will help me through the rest of my journey. That's what matters. That's just a risk of playing a sport, is that you can just hurt. That's life, too.

So I just wish I could get it for my teammates because they do deserve it, but that's life. That's always been my motto, that's life.

So got to find a way to just keep to pushing.

Q. Lexy, this one is for you. If you can think about where the team was at last year, the transformation you guys had this year, can you just reflect on just the journey to be sitting at this podium now?

LEXY KEYS: Yeah, I think it's a night-and-day comparison. I think it all goes back to the love we have for each other, the connection we have with each other. It's just really special. It goes beyond basketball.

I think that makes the difference in the long run. It's not necessarily about the wins and losses, which those are great, but like this is family forever for us.

Q. Naomie, can you reflect on your time at Oklahoma State and just really what it's meant to you?

NAOMIE ALNATAS: Yes, I can, sure. I just had one year, and I didn't know what I was getting into when coach called me honestly. But I'm glad she did, thought about me.

It wasn't easy to come from a mid-major to here, Big XII. I faced a bunch of challenges. I mean, size, speed. Lexy Keys was always beating me down the court every single time.

But I had to adjust. I know my teammates helped me. They accepted me. But I had to make sure it was not going to change who I was, bringing the light, the joy. I mean, God gifted me with that, so I think I had to make it justice and just use it.

I'll always be grateful for coach. I know she is my coach, but somehow, some way, I consider her as a friend more. She's not that old and I'm not that young, so it's like the age gap a really small.

But I'm really grateful for that. No doubt these girls are going to kill it. They have a heck of a leader sitting on my left. I know right here she's just going to give it hell.

But it was just to do everything that I can so they just keep on going, the legacy. I think from now you can understand that God definitely had his hand on the program 1000%, no doubt.

And right here, it's like as I talk I just go through the journey, and I'm just grateful that I was able to be part of that. I don't know where I'm going to end up, but I know that I'll be just fine and that they will be just fine.

But I'm still grateful, no matter what was the outcome today.

Q. Could you guys talk to me about the third quarter there. Obviously Miami scored a bunch of points, and I think 20 in the first seven minutes or something. You guys only had the 3. Were you guys struggling more defensively or offensively, or does it kind of bleed into each other as you guys were struggling to hold the halftime lead?

LEXY KEYS: I think they kind of went into each other. It started with defense, and always starts with defense for us. We weren't very good in transition in that quarter, and I think it led into offense because we were -- we just felt rushed. Felt like the lead was dwindling and had to score points.

Ultimately, we just kind of got out of being us for a little bit.

NAOMIE ALNATAS: I think she hit it right on the head. I would say also we was not hunting as we were in the first half.

That's it. I mean, that was a great team. They played good defense. We took a little bit longer to adjust.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for coach?

Q. I'll ask you the same questions I asked them, and another one as well. When the lead turned, what did you feel like was most impactful, defensive struggles? Offensive struggles? And second thing is you guys obviously had some tournament experience, players that have been in the tournament before. But having those veterans not having success, do you feel like now you've got a team that has felt what it is like and that will translate in years to come? Was that one of the things that maybe hurt you a little bit today?

JACIE HOYT: Yeah, I think in that third quarter, you know, I knew what Miami was capable of. I've seen them force teams into turnovers and play the exact way they did in that stretch.

I've seen it time and time again on film. In fact, I chewed our team out at halftime just knowing the storm that was coming. I felt like the game plan today was to take care of the ball and limit their transition.

They are really, really good when they're able to get up and down, and I thought that their defense affected us offensively, and then they were able to score easy points.

So didn't really feel like we had a chance to play defense because they were just running. That's just what Miami does. They're very good at that. I wish I could have done more to help our team throughout that stretch.

And then I think -- you know, I mean, yeah, we have had some players who have played at this level and on this platform. I felt like at times that helped, but every game is different. Every year is different. Every situation is different.

I do think that what happened today is going to bode well for us in the future, because the hardest thing is just getting here. We got here. I can't think of a more motivating way to go into your off-season, to go into next season, to just be so close and not get that taste of winning.

So I think that overall our foundation is really going to benefit, as hard as it is to say that. That's what I'm going to do as a leader, make sure we use this to our advantage in the future.

Q. Yeah, the fact that you did chew them out at halftime, were there things that you tried to say in the huddle as that run is happening to try to get it shut off? It didn't seem like they were finding answers. Was there anything you could say or do to help them along there?

JACIE HOYT: Obviously not. I mean, I wish that we could have adjusted better. We prepared for it, but until you go up against it, it's different. I was really trying to just bring a sense of calm and peace to the chaos. Felt like it was kind of a combination of some people tightening up and some people being too lax.

And I know just in the future, again, that's really going to help me be a better coach for my players, the players that we have returning. That's a stretch that we're going to be able to go back to and work on moving forward.

Q. You touched on it in your opening statement. In a year where you're not -- everybody thought you would be sitting here in the March Madness, as you reflect on it, how successful was this year?

JACIE HOYT: It was incredibly successful. It wasn't just successful on paper. Our culture is strong. You heard what the players said. Cowgirl basketball has something so special right now, whether it's our work ethic, whether it's the way that our players carry themselves with integrity and class. And take so much pride in representing Oklahoma State.

I would put our culture up against anyone. Anyone in the country. And so that's really what I'm most proud of. But on paper, to go from a 9-win season to a 21-win season, to get to be here, like I said, to have our fan base just so rejuvenated and reenergized, and the momentum that we've got there, the momentum that I feel in recruiting, all of it, we're trending exactly where we want to be.

I'm so thankful to the amazing group of players who helped us lay the foundation that they did. That was the whole goal, was to lay an unshakable foundation. They did exactly that, so I'm incredibly proud.