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BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 9, 2006Sherri CoaleErin HigginsCourtney ParisDALLAS, TEXAS Q. You guys have talked all year about how they have to choose one, whether they cover Courtney, cover you guys or whatever, is this the best you guys have played in terms of everything being on at the same time in the first half? ERIN HIGGINS: I would say so. I think the main thing was, is we went inside early, Courtney and Leah both were doing a really good job of getting offensive rebounds. Q. Talk about how important it was that you were able to rest your starters a lot? COACH COALE: I think it's really important. I'm really proud of that second group we had coming in there, they played hard, they made big plays, big shorts. Ashley played really, really well and gave us a big spark when we had a couple of turnovers. It's good to rest her legs. We have a day tomorrow where we can kind of collect ourselves and get back to focusing on us for a day. Q. Erin, you've been here four years, what is tonight, especially the first half, rank in terms of how well you guys played? ERIN HIGGINS: I think it's pretty high up there. I can remember kind of the same scenario two years ago when we were here against Kansas State, just everything was going for us, everything was going well for us, we were having so much fun. Like Courtney says, it's a bubble. It just doesn't seem like anything could waver us one way or the other. It was so much fun, and I thought about it when I was on the bench; it's just like Kansas State two years ago, and look what happened. Q. Coach and Erin if you could both answer, did this feel like a Big 12 semifinal tonight? COACH COALE: Yeah, because we were in Reunion Arena and the crowd is full of -- the fans are from a variety of schools. You look up and the Baylor people were lingering in and the Tech folks were lingering in, and it's the hoopla that surrounds it all. You're playing here with all of the banners above. It's not necessarily so much about what happened in those 40 minutes as there is just a special spirit that surrounds this event. ERIN HIGGINS: I agree with that. I think that our fans were really, really great. They really got us going once we hit some big shots and they got into it. I think this is one of the biggest crowds we've had down here Reunion Arena and they were unbelievable. Q. Courtney, you could have gone as long as you needed tonight, but was it sort of good for you, 17 minutes; in Iowa State game yesterday was pretty taxing, was it a good thing to have a little bit more time to rest and then have tomorrow to rest? COURTNEY PARIS: I think whenever you can rest your legs, it's great and that was good for everybody. I had a lot of fun just watching and seeing Beky and Ashley and Krista and those guys go at it. It was a good break and entertaining. Q. As far as if you can just talk about what Leah meant to you guys tonight and what she's meant as a teammate all year for you. ERIN HIGGINS: I think Leah has been the epitome of the most selfless teammate you can have. She goes from being one of our leader scorers last year to giving up some points because she's guarding the best players and blocking out the tough people. She's completely selfless. She cares more about the score board and how we're doing as a team, and I think that she's grown in that sense from last year to this year. She's completely invaluable. You can't replace her. Q. Oklahoma wins the rebounding by a wide margin and you get ten rebounds yourself, but talk about the role that plays for this team, because very seldom this year has Oklahoma lost a rebounding battle. ASHLEY PARIS: Coach talked about before the game that if we in the game get more rebounds than the other team, we're most likely going to win, and that's the case. I got a lot of rebounds tonight, and it's just my teammates making it easy for us. Q. How much of an impact has this been to you the first year to be a part of a tradition of playing for Oklahoma, because this is a dream come true, how does this feel, and talk about the performance of your guards. ASHLEY PARIS: I don't know, like when I was being recruited, coach coal talked to me about all of the things that could happen here. The coolest part is coming and look at us now, like it's happening and her vision was true and I'm just happy to be a part of it. COURTNEY PARIS: I think the same thing. I mean, even before coming here, it was just looking at what they already had and their relationship off the court and just Coach Coale's confidence and their swagger. You know that you're going to be special here and us with them -- doing what we're doing right now, so it's just pretty exciting to see it all happening. COACH COALE: I probably think if there has been a surprise or if there's been a development in our team from what maybe people thought at the outset, to where we are now, it's been the play of those point guards, the development of Britney Brown and Kendra Moore. You could just sense Britney's confidence, her attack mentality. She's really sort of known, quote, unquote, as a defender, but you saw her get to the rim repeatedly. She's taken great care of the basketball. And Kendra comes in and continues what Britney starts. So having both of those guys playing in a tandem has really been the reason in my opinion. Some nights we shoot it really well and some nights Courtney gets 36 and some nights Britney and Kendra just right the ship and that's the reason we're able to go 18-0 so far. Q. Courtney, is the way you guys played tonight, is that what we can expect you to play the rest of March and next season? COURTNEY PARIS: Well, I certainly hope so. I mean, I think we're able it do a lot of special things if we're able to play like that. That's fun and that's what basketball -- that's when basketball gets perfect, when everything is going well and you're having fun and you're staying together and everybody is a part of it. Q. We talk a few weeks ago about if you go 16-0, what about an NCAA seed, and I'm just wondering if you think that kind of performance gives everybody something to think about if you maybe should be in the running for a 1 seed? COACH COALE: Certainly, I think it makes for some interesting conversation around that selection table on Monday. I think we have to follow that with similar performance on Saturday, but if we do, absolutely, particularly when viewed in light of what has happened around the country in various Conference tournaments: Rutgers going down and LSU going down and Stanford going down. And it's happened -- I don't know of a league off the top of my head, I guess Ohio State squeaked by Purdue in the championship game. And maybe if we can take care of business on Saturday with some sort of exclamation point, certainly creates at least a cause for a conversation about it. Q. Could you address the luxury of being able to rest your starters so much? COACH COALE: Yeah, I think, also, I just spoke about the guard play and one of the reasons we were able to come out unscathed in Conference play. I answered one of the questions last night about Courtney, you know, is she going to be worn out -- well, we were able to play her, 24, 25, 26 minutes on a number of occasions in Big 12 play. And she has young legs, she's 18. When she's a senior, this conversation might be just a little bit different. But right now, when you were 18, couldn't you do just about anything? So we get a chance to rest her, she plays -- and trust me, she's already given me grief about 17 minutes, "What's up with that Coach, 17 minutes? Ashley has played more minutes than me." I already heard that. So, yeah, it's nice to have. Both she and Britney particularly, because their tasks last night or yesterday afternoon were so large, both of those guys, they just went at them and went at them. Britney had to guard Medders all night and Courtney we were throwing the ball to her and they were making her score offensively. Yeah, it's go to have them on the bench and get those other guys minutes, too. We're going to need them down the strep. I don't think it matters who we see. I don't think it's about who we play, I think it's about how we play. Q. He stole my thunder with his follow-up question. You look down the list of wins and the only one with an OT next to it is Baylor, a really good game a couple of weeks ago. If it is Baylor, does that just seem like the way it's been setting up all season long that you would meet in the championship game? COACH COALE: I don't know. I think that Baylor is clearly -- and you guys gave me all kinds of grief for saying this during Big 12 play, but clearly they are the second-best team in the league, they finished in second place and they separated themselves, is my point, from the guys that were behind them. I think what Sophia Young does for that team and the sense of urgency that she's playing within her final season, a valiant opponent, and they still carry that National Championship banner around, it's theirs until somebody else takes it in April. We'll play whoever it is. Q. In the name of looking ahead, is this what we can expect you to be like next season? COACH COALE: Well, I hope not, I hope it's better. When you get a year older and a year wiser and better condition and understand things intently at a different level, I hope it's getting better and better. If it's not, I'm not doing my job.
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