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BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 7, 2006LaToya DavisPatrice EdwardsMarsha SharpDALLAS, TEXAS COACH MARSHA SHARP: We knew today was a must-win for us in order to extend our season, have a chance to play in a couple of weeks. We understood the importance of this game, and I felt like we prepared well for it and we had some players that really stepped up and gave us some good minutes. There were a couple of keys I thought, that first of all, I thought our ability to rebound in the first half and make it one-and-out for Oklahoma State was a big factor for us. I thought we played good defense and limited the touches that they had too deep on the block. The times where we had struggled with Oklahoma State in our two previous games were times whenever their post players got to catch it too deep in the paint and made plays against us and we tried to avoid that today as much as we could. Obviously it was a blow to us to lose Myrick early, and we're going to do an MRI and try to assess where we are with that this afternoon. It's always important that you have players that are ready to take that challenge and step up and come make some plays for us. I thought Patrice Edwards and Teddy Griffin both filled in there very well and made some big plays for us on both ends to give us a chance to win. I'm proud of us and we're real excited about the chance to play again tomorrow. Q. When you saw Erin Myrick go down early in the first half, did you kind of tell yourself that maybe you would have to step up today? PATRICE EDWARDS: Yeah, I did. I know what it means to get hurt, so I'm always ready for the opportunity to help. Q. LaToya, Coach mentioned how important this win for you guys was, can you just talk about that? LaTOYA DAVIS: I think this was important, first of all so, we could play another day and not go home early. We even want to try to get in the NCAA Tournament. I think this gives us momentum to go in and play tomorrow and hopefully keep on winning and planning and get to a championship. Q. LaToya, could you sense or could you see how frustrated Oklahoma State was; they were chasing records. LaTOYA DAVIS: I could not really see that. Oklahoma State is a great ball team, even though their record doesn't show it, they are a good ball team and they get better every time we play them. Overall they are a great team. Q. You mentioned the defense, how much did they step up in those three or four possessions when you could not get the basket? COACH MARSHA SHARP: I thought obviously we didn't score a lot of points in the game or in the first half, and so our defense had to be where we really got our lift. I think to hold any team to 15 points talks about the fact that you're limited and the number of shots you're taking and they are probably not getting very many boards and sticks. We also did a pretty good job of keeping them off the free throw line. So there's no question, and that's been the case most of the year for us. We have to defend people well to hold people to low number of points to have a chance to stay in games. Q. At this point, you know, every game it seems like it's a one-game season depending on the tournaments and stuff, but have you got yourself maybe thinking of a career's worth of memories popping into your head knowing that the end is coming in the next couple of weeks? COACH MARSHA SHARP: Yes, there have been moments where I've thought about, you know, when this is done that I'm going to have a lot of thoughts of great games and things that we've been able to do. Our staff sat this morning at pregame and talked a little bit about all of the things that we had experienced together at Reunion Arena and obviously there have been some great memories in here for us, because we played a lot of big games before the Big 12 was even formed when the Southwest Conference was here. So there are moments when those things are happening, and I'll tell you, whenever the ball is tipped, that all goes away, and there's not anything in my mind at that point but how to make these guys have a chance to win. I never had a thought about it the whole time that I was on the court today from the tip to the final buzzer. This was all about this team and trying to get them to the next round. Q. It's been about two months since you saw Missouri; talk about the game tomorrow and your thoughts about it? COACH MARSHA SHARP: I'm excited that we're playing a team from the north. I think to make have an opportunity to play someone we haven't seen but twice already is in some ways a little bit of a help. I think we're a different team than we were that day in Missouri and certainly they may feel the same way. But I do think that we are a little bit more solid on offense. Our decision-making process has changed a little bit probably since that day. You know, we were on the road in some fairly difficult circumstances the day that we played up there. I think that, you know, because of that, we'll be ready to go. Certainly, they have a great basketball team. They are athletic, they can hurt you in a lot of different spots. They bring a lot to the table. We have a lot of respect for the coaching staff and I think it will be a great game. I don't think there's any question that there will be a lot of plays made because there will be a lot of athletes going after each other tomorrow. Q. Second game in a row you had considerable minutes, do you think with more time you're getting better and more action? PATRICE EDWARDS: Yeah, I think I am. It's been a long season and every chance I get to play, I think I get better. I think I'm getting a little better and now I know what I have to do, it helps. Q. Could Myrick have gone back in the game today? COACH MARSHA SHARP: No, I think they are holding her out for precautionary reasons. As we speak they are doing an MRI on it to evaluate where we are, so we'll probably know something later today about her status and what she'll be able to do to help us. Q. This may sound like an odd question, but is there any kind of pressure when you're facing a team that has not won in the Big 12? COACH MARSHA SHARP: Yes. I think that the scenario where -- all of the pressure I would think was on us today. You know, they probably could relax and play and do the things that they wanted to and didn't feel a lot of pressure to win. I don't think there's any question when you're in a tournament setting like this that there is more pressure attached to the team that's trying to get themselves in a tournament or continue to play more so than maybe the other way around. Q. LaToya, can you talk about Patrice's play, coming in, they were giving you a hard time and maybe opening things up for her. LaTOYA DAVIS: Well, she's my roommate on the trip, but she's a great player and she's long and I go against her in practice and get my shot blocked most of the time. She's a great player, goes in there and does what she has to do. Like whatever Coach Sharp asks her to do, she'll do and she goes out there and gets it done and she had a great game tonight. Q. I apologize if I was not here for the first time you talked about Patrice, but can you talk about Patrice as well as the fact that you guys were able to rest your big three players, something you'll need if you want to reach your ultimate goal, the Championship? COACH MARSHA SHARP: Well, Patrice Edwards was a great player when we recruited her out of a junior college system in Texas at Frank Phillips College (ph). Patrice suffered some pretty traumatic injuries and some knee problems that we've had a very difficult time trying to overcome. We felt like when we recruited her, she had a chance to be a really special player. I think she just now has had enough reps. Even in practice settings, we've been limited even in the amount we can practice or since she's been at Tech that she's beginning to feel that she can give us some moments and help us a little bit. There have been a few moments in the last couple of weeks where we felt that more than ever. It was not really that big of a surprise to me today what she got it done, but I think I'm really proud for her. Because when you rehab as many times as she's had to and gone through the things she's done, she's had four knee surgeries since she's been at Tech, that's pretty significant. To get a kid that's able to come back and do something like she did today, that's pretty special, and I'm proud for her and I'm glad we got to rest some kids. I thought it was going to be a big part of today to try to juggle people around a little bit and get some help from the bench so that some of those guys that have been playing 37 or 38 minutes for us were going to have an opportunity today not to have to do that and hopefully have a little bit more leg spring tomorrow and be able to attack people a little bit better. Q. The Oklahoma State coach has a proven track record at his previous stops, in a Conference like the Big 12, can you have a quick turnaround, or is it going to be a long-haul process trying to turn the program around? COACH MARSHA SHARP: I don't think there's any question that he will get some things to happen there. He's a great coach. He's got a great staff. They will probably build it in a lot of different ways, I think a different direction as far as junior college and players and the whole works. I would expect him to be much improved a year from now. The other thing about that is when I watch them play and watch them on tape, I'm always thinking to myself, there is such a razor thin difference between teams that win six or eight games and teams that don't or teams that are in the Top 3 in the Conference and teams that are not. It's a player here, a player there, a play here or there, that makes that difference. So I think he probably is not as far away as people probably would think, looking at their record. I think some of the players in that program are very capable of stepping and playing at a level high enough to give them a chance to win. So I would -- I would bet you -- no, that's a bad word today. Bet is not a good thing to say. But I would guess that in a year, you would be talking about a program that has some significant wins in their program in a year.
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