K-State vs. Oklahoma State Postgame Quotes
Jan 28, 2017 | General
KANSAS STATE HEAD COACH AND PLAYER QUOTES
Head coach Jeff Mittie
Opening statement…
“Well that was a heck of a game. Every time we thought we delivered the blow to keep them away they kept answering. I thought [Mandy] Coleman was fantastic for them. [Kaylee] Jensen was all over the place and the stat line. She is such a great competitor. I think our group really dug deep for this one. Kindred [Wesemann] obviously had an amazing second half, just kind of willed us to victory. I think others helped, Karyla [Middlebrook] got to the free throw line which was big for us. Shaelyn [Martin] made a big play in there. We got [Breanna] Lewis a few buckets in there. Kaylee [Page] got to the free throw line. We had a really good offensive performance, and we really would not have been in the game if Eternati [Willock] had not played so well in the first half. We could have been down 10-15 if she had not played so well, so she kind of kept us in it by knocking down shots and making big plays that allowed us to be close enough to make a run in the second half. A good team effort today. ”
On the message at halftime…
“To win some tough plays. We opened things up a little bit and changed the emphasis offensively to try and get off the bounce a little bit more to spread their big lineup more. I thought the guards were excellent, we were in the bonus early getting hand check calls early that enabled us to open things up some. Defensively we wanted to find [Mandy] Coleman better. She had a great night so we did not necessarily do that much better. We wanted to crowd [Kaylee] Jensen as much as possible, but I thought those two played fantastic for them. Proud of our group because when they hit us, we would come right back and hit them. When they hit us with a three, we came back and answered. We had good execution in those stretches and a good emphasis on being connected with each, felt like we had good looks in our eyes during those stretches. ”
On Kindred Wesemann’s career high 34 points…
“I did not realize she had 34. I really do not pay attention to it other than I knew she was hot. We really did not call many plays to get her hot either. We really did not call many plays in the second half. We were doing so many good things I wanted to keep the pedal down. If they did start to guard us better then I would probably call some things, so most of that was just our group having a good emphasis.”
On Kindred Wesemann’s growth…
“I saw Kindred from another bench when she was a freshman. She was a fighter and competitor then. Very emotional at both ends of the floor. The growth of her to be less emotional when things go bad is big to see. I think Eternati [Willock] is starting to do those things better as a freshman. Kindred was that way as a freshman as well. Kindred is a great leader for our group. I do not have to say a whole lot in timeouts in terms in making sure our group is going the right way because I think our group is ready to go when I get in the huddle. Her growth has been really fun to watch and she loves to play. I do not think anyone that comes in Bramlage and does not see that Kindred Wesemann loves to play and loves everything about it. I think that is fun to see.”
Senior Guard Kindred Wesemann
On performance…
“It always feels good whenever the ball goes into the hoop. The second half was a lot more fun for me than the first half. I like flying around on defense too so I take a lot of pride in defense, and I thought our team did very well to find me in spots too and to give me open shots.”
On knowing when the night was going right…
“I don’t know; I don’t think I really knew. The little step back that I had on them felt pretty good to have. I was feeling myself a bit after that. It got me pumped up.”
Freshman Forward Eternati Willock
On watching Kindred in the second half…
“It was amazing to watch just her energy and her focus throughout the whole game, staying engaged every time and pushing through adversity. It was amazing to watch. I am really proud of her and excited.”
OKLAHOMA STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Jim Littell
Opening statement…
“Kindred Wesemann, that is the ball game right there. She played great, was very good in every phase of the game. We put two kids on her that we expect to be stoppers and they got torched. She is one of those kids who seems like she has been around for about eight years so I am glad she is graduating. She has a lot of savvy, just a really good player. I thought we did a lot of things right, I thought we played better in a lot of the phases of the game. We had been turning the ball over twenty plus times and we cut our turnovers to eleven. We did not have any problems with the press. I thought we had some good inside-outside balance. I thought Mandy Coleman was really good, Kaylee Jensen had 26 and 15. I thought she missed some shots early that she does not normally miss, in the first half but how can you be critical of a kid who goes out and gets 26 and 15? I was talking to Ryan, who is our SID and I cannot think of anybody in my six year tenure who went for thirty against us. We kind of take pride in playing some defense, she was just spectacular in every aspect of the game. Her shot selection, we got up and crowded her so she drove around us and made layups, got to the free throw line and made free throws. The bottom line, if you look at everything on the stat sheet is that we did not have an answer for her.”
On K-State 14-0 run…
“That is going to Kindred Wesemann and we could not stop her. I mean they had, what you could tell was an effort to get her the basketball, she scored 15 in the third. I mean that is the ballgame right there. They have a go to player and they went to her and she produced.”
On guarding Kindred Wesemann…
“I just think she is, I do not know her background, but I bet she is one of those kids that is a gym rat and just lives in the gym and since she has been here her career has developed. She has added more phases to the game, and what I mean by that is, she has always been able to shoot the ball since she came in the league but now she is pretty good off of the dribble. When you are such a threat from the outside, you have to go out and guard somebody and then your dribble-drive becomes better and she has a little floater too. I always talk about three phases of the game, the three, the intermediate shot whether that is a floater or a jump shot and then a drive to the hole. Right now she has all three of those. I would have liked to have done a better job of guarding her but there is some time when you have to give a kid credit that she had a big time game. If we hold her to her average, we win by ten or twelve. I am not displeased with anything we did offensively, 8 for 18 from three is a good night for us, 11 for 13 at the line is a pretty good night. 11 turnovers has been exceptional for what we have done the last three or four games. It just came down to when they threw it to [Karyla] Middlebrook and she went baseline and drove around us and shot a layup. We have to have more toughness at that point in the game, especially when you are playing on the road. I know we cut it to two, they isolated her in the left corner and she just went and shot a layup. You will not win on the road when that occurs.”
