Oklahoma basketball coach Jennie Baranczyk and players Payton Verhulst and Kiersten Johnson meet the press after the Sooners win over Baylor.
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00:00 I don't even really know where to start.
00:02 I'm really proud of our team and obviously Baylor's a really good basketball team.
00:07 It's a game of runs and just really proud of our overall team play.
00:11 I thought we did a really nice job of covering for each other today.
00:13 [unclear dialogue]
00:30 I think any time you have anybody get in foul trouble, but obviously Skyler, that's not
00:35 the most ideal situation.
00:36 However, I do feel like we have continued to develop our depth.
00:42 Really case in point, I thought Beatrice came in, I thought she did some really good things
00:46 for us and then she kind of got into some foul trouble.
00:48 KJ usually has come in and really had some great spurts and we've talked a lot about
00:52 that.
00:53 Today she had to really extend that.
00:55 She might have been a little tired at times, but she had to get over it and she did.
00:59 I think that's what great teams do.
01:01 I thought Peyton really, I thought she was incredible too in terms of just saying, "Okay,
01:06 this is where we're at.
01:07 This is what we need to be able to do."
01:10 Just keep going.
01:11 To me, obviously it's not ideal, but we're a team and that happens.
01:17 Teams have to cover for teams.
01:19 That's exactly what I felt like we did today.
01:22 I don't think KJ played out of her mind.
01:24 I think KJ played how she's capable of playing.
01:27 I don't think Peyton played out of her mind.
01:30 I think that's what she just does.
01:33 When you have Skyler, I think when Skyler came back in, I think we just started throwing
01:38 it to her and saying, "Okay, Sky, it's your turn.
01:39 Go to work."
01:40 She understood and then they made a run.
01:43 Once we started playing again, then where everybody's touching the basketball and we're
01:48 setting each other up, then all of a sudden you start to put the ball in the hole a little
01:51 bit more.
01:52 You start to play defense, all those different things.
01:56 I was really proud of that, but I also know that that's part of who we are.
02:02 Your assist to baskets ratio is awesome again tonight.
02:05 That's a good thing we had a lot of assists.
02:07 Is that what you're saying?
02:08 I think we turned it over a little bit too much tonight.
02:12 I know.
02:13 I was reading between your lines, James.
02:24 I feel like Baylor's really good.
02:27 They're very different than even who we just played in Iowa State, who's very good.
02:32 It took us a little bit, I do feel like, to really adjust to them.
02:37 As we started to adjust to them, I felt like we did a better job of setting each other
02:40 up.
02:41 I think at the beginning, I felt like there were times where it was like we were a little
02:43 bit rushed and they got us.
02:47 Then I felt like we started to play to each other's strengths.
02:50 There were moments, I feel like, in the first half, but I thought in the second half for
02:53 sure we did a much better job of really just playing to each other's strengths.
02:57 I will say defensively, there were some things that I would be a lot happier if we could
03:03 have rebounded a little better in the second half and got back.
03:07 Because Baylor's so good in transition, we needed to get back faster.
03:10 You blocked a lot of shots.
03:12 These two did, but we can't always rely on that either.
03:16 I thought we did a good job of covering for each other, which we didn't in the first.
03:20 Vega got posted up a lot.
03:23 We just needed to play better team defense.
03:26 But defensively, and I know I'm all over the place and I know we're a little bit in a hurry,
03:30 but I feel like Lexi Keyes continues to elevate our level of defense.
03:36 Just her blue collar, just her demeanor, her attitude, her effort.
03:41 Kennedy Tucker, whenever she's in there, she's doing the same exact thing.
03:45 The two of them have really taken it on so much that my nine-year-old daughter yesterday
03:51 in her rec game told me that she was trying to channel her inner Lexi Keyes and Kennedy
03:56 Tucker in her defense.
03:57 I tell you what, that's impressive.
04:01 That's impressive because most of the time it's the people that score.
04:04 -Jenny, I think for most people it's kind of hard to believe you guys are on this run
04:10 right now, but obviously you guys believe that you can do it all the time.
04:15 What has been key on this?
04:16 What does it feel like to know that you guys are just ripping off wins like this?
04:23 -I guess I didn't even ever look at it.
04:24 I know this sounds dumb.
04:26 I never looked at it as we're on a run.
04:27 I don't think we've ever even talked about being on a run.
04:30 I think it's the next game.
04:32 I think it's, "Okay, what do we get to do?"
04:34 They're still excited coming to practice.
04:38 There's times where I'm like, "Okay, we got to only be here for this long," and we go
04:42 two times that sometimes.
04:44 We're practicing a long time and we're watching a lot of film, but they're really engaged
04:48 in it.
04:49 They're getting excited about being challenged.
04:51 They're excited about growing.
04:53 That's one thing that falling on your face does is you don't worry about it.
04:59 You don't worry about it because you know you can get up.
05:01 You know you can roll your sleeves up.
05:02 You got to keep working.
05:05 We don't care if we win or we lose.
05:07 Obviously you want to win every game.
05:09 We want to go play the game.
05:11 When we start worrying about the scoreboard, we're not very good.
05:13 When we start playing, then we're a pretty good basketball team.
05:17 -Jenny, you talked about that swing where you had a couple turnovers and then you called
05:23 it.
05:24 -Which one?
05:25 -Oh my gosh.
05:26 -The one after the two.
05:27 -Yeah, the two.
05:28 Right.
05:29 -You come back and Skyler gets a couple buckets.
05:30 What is it about timeouts that ... It seems like this team responds pretty well to timeouts.
05:31 Do you feel like that's true?
05:32 What do you think changed in your team?
05:40 -I think it just reset us a little bit.
05:44 It wasn't a timeout where it was, "Okay, I'm going to lay into them and start yelling at
05:48 them and tell them to get together," and all those kinds of things.
05:52 Sometimes it's just a reset.
05:53 Sometimes it's a, "Okay, we're getting outplayed.
05:55 We're getting out hustled."
05:58 A lot of it is more about just our collective response.
06:04 I think when we understand that we're in charge of our response and no one else is, then we
06:09 respond.
06:11 It's pretty neat because this team is really a very connected team.
06:15 When we feel it, we feel it, good, bad, or otherwise.
06:19 I think when we can reset in those moments, I think that's really helped us.
06:23 There's nothing magical.
06:24 I've said nothing.
06:25 I've drawn up nothing.
06:26 It's nothing like that.
06:27 It's them just continuing to rely on each other.
06:30 -Kirsten and Peyton, Jenny talks about response there.
06:33 How much different is the response of this team now than maybe even just a couple weeks
06:40 ago and certainly a month ago to things like the fourth quarter, what happens there to
06:46 Skyler going down in foul trouble and how much better are you going to respond to that?
06:54 -I think it's just time thing.
06:57 We've gotten a lot closer around this time.
06:59 We do things together.
07:00 We talk about different things.
07:01 I think we understand each other now to this point.
07:04 You be with someone so long, you get to know their manners and what they do, how they act,
07:07 how they respond.
07:09 I think that's just really us.
07:11 We're not fake about it.
07:12 We're going to tell each other what's real because we want the best for each other.
07:15 I think that's what we do just to make each other better.
07:18 -I think Jenny's talked a lot this year about we can't live in the valleys.
07:21 We can't live on top of the mountain because if you live on top of the mountain, there's
07:24 nowhere else to go but down.
07:25 Obviously throughout this whole year, we've experienced both being on bottom and being
07:30 on top.
07:31 I think for us, that goes in the game too.
07:34 In a game like this where Skyler might be in foul trouble, we're not just thrown completely
07:39 off.
07:40 We have people coming off the bench able to provide.
07:41 I think that just shows so much about Jenny's style of play is that we have an entire team
07:46 that can go out there and make a difference in the game.
07:48 It's not just relying on one or two people.
07:50 I feel like that's what is going to really make us good this year.
07:53 -I'm curious.
07:54 I think Baylor tried to make it a more physical game in the fourth quarter.
08:00 You guys matched it and actually extended the lead.
08:05 Everybody thinks you're not a finesse team but this pretty team and things like that.
08:10 You guys get after it pretty good, can't you?
08:13 Aren't you proud of that?
08:14 -Oh yeah.
08:15 -I think we go at it in practice so it's nothing to us.
08:18 I think that's the fun in playing basketball.
08:20 I think that's just what the game is.
08:22 We have to bring fun to it.
08:24 Everybody talks trash, everybody does this but it's how we respond and we're going to
08:28 respond together no matter what.
08:30 -I think that's the biggest thing.
08:31 We worry about us and worry about what we can do.
08:35 I think the responses from other teams or even trying to respond to the refs is something
08:39 that's out of our hands.
08:40 I think obviously that's something I'm still working on.
08:43 I think just worrying about ourselves and playing for ourselves.
08:46 -It feels like you guys are playing with more confidence.
08:50 Is that the case?
08:51 Do you guys feel more confident out there recently?
08:55 -Yeah.
08:56 I mean, yeah.
08:57 Like I said, we've always had it.
08:59 I think y'all are just really starting to see what we can do.
09:02 I think it's only up from here, honestly.
09:04 -I think it's easy to say yes when you're winning games.
09:08 I don't think there's ever been a lack of confidence on this team.
09:12 I think that we do a really good job of pouring into each other, especially Jenny pouring
09:15 into us.
09:17 I don't think there's ever a lack of confidence.
09:20 Maybe one person for a couple plays is lacking, we pour into them.
09:24 I think that, again, is what makes our team really great.
09:27 -Kirsten, for you, what's clicked for you recently?
09:33 What's different for you?
09:34 Obviously, tonight, you see the scoring numbers, but just over the course of the season, what
09:41 do you feel like has really improved for you recently?
09:45 -I think going on, talking to Jenny, I think my defense, I let my defense go into offense.
09:51 I used to think the other way around, but until I would think about defense, being able
09:55 to help my team, it's not about all the block shots and stuff.
09:58 It's just being able to help the next person.
10:00 I think that's something that's really elevated my game.
10:03 I think, I don't know, patience also.
10:04 Patience is a big thing for me.
10:05 Just being able to take my time instead of rushing, it opens up a lot of things.
10:06 -Jenny Andrews, I think she had 14, but for the most part, you didn't let her go crazy.
10:07 Was it just, did you do anything special or just got after her pretty good?
10:23 -No, I think she's a really good basketball player.
10:26 We think 14 isn't a lot because we've seen her have 30 on us.
10:32 I think they also have a lot of balance in their scoring too.
10:35 Her shot attempts, it looks like she only had eight anyway.
10:39 She hit some big threes, but I do feel like we did a nice job of knowing where she was.
10:46 There were a couple times that she got us when we weren't necessarily guarding.
10:49 We were a little bit off and not dared her to shoot, but that's what it looked like we
10:54 were doing.
10:57 She's obviously a great basketball player and they have a lot of talent on that team.
11:04 They were a hard team to prepare for because there's so much balance in terms of who you
11:10 have to pick and how you have to pick to guard.
11:14 Like I said, they got us on some things, but I feel like we did a pretty good job.
11:22 It might just be the shot attempts too.
11:24 I thought Nevaeh was great.
11:46 I thought it was nice to see Nevaeh today really turn it.
11:52 She came in and she's had a good attitude.
11:56 She had all of that and she was kind of having fun and she was kind of playing.
12:00 But then there was a moment in the game where she was like, "Okay, we've got to start going."
12:04 I feel like when she does that, it's amazing.
12:08 I talk a lot about Lexi Keys.
12:09 I talk about these guys, but obviously Nevaeh is the one with the ball in her hands and
12:14 I feel like she managed well.
12:16 One of the most pivotal moments that I really noticed for her individually is at the end
12:25 of the game, she put everybody in the positions that she knew they needed to be in.
12:30 When your point guard does that and she's calling looks for other people, that's pretty
12:37 cool.
12:38 Especially, she hit a big three.
12:40 She hit a big pull-up.
12:42 She did some really good things for us, but when she is putting other people in those
12:45 kinds of positions, that's pretty impressive.
12:50 You said the good road win at Aims, you have to go to Morgantown.
12:56 What can you take away from that game and even here today?
13:02 Honestly, we'll get to West Virginia tomorrow.
13:04 We're going to enjoy this one tonight.
13:07 I wish we could take the 10,000 people and cheer for us, but we had a nice little contingency
13:12 in Iowa.
13:13 We didn't have 10,000.
13:14 They did, but we had quite a few.
13:18 I don't know.
13:19 We're just going to keep getting better.
13:20 I don't think that we're going in that to be like, "Oh, this is what we're going to
13:23 go do.
13:24 We're going to get our game plan together.
13:25 They'll have to give me a little time.
13:27 I'll get it together by tomorrow.
13:28 Our staff will get it together.
13:31 We're going to continue to focus on getting better and having fun playing."
13:34 It's literally just that simple.
13:35 Anything else, guys?
13:36 Can you offer a comment on in-game and just the importance of keeping that tradition alive
13:37 every year?
13:38 Yeah.
13:39 I was told before this is the 18th year that we've done it, which is obviously incredibly
13:49 impressive.
13:52 It's not just a pretty color, obviously.
13:54 It is so important for women's basketball.
13:58 It's our cause.
14:01 It's also so incredible because you can see all their shirts, and everybody's impacted,
14:06 obviously, by cancer.
14:10 It's not always good, but this is also one that we get to play for all these people.
14:15 Then we get to really shine a light on our community.
14:17 I'll tell you, it was incredibly humbling at halftime when there are lines and lines
14:24 of women giving high fives to everybody that are survivors, that are currently fighting,
14:31 that have overcome.
14:34 Then there's families that are here because they lost their loved one.
14:39 That gives you perspective.
14:40 You come in with perspective because you think we do this every single year, but when you
14:44 actually see these women, it gives you an incredible perspective.
14:49 The most amazing thing is we're going to continue to do everything that we can for and with
14:54 this community.
14:55 This one was definitely for all of them today.
14:57 Thank you.
14:58 Yeah, Lori McFall is a family friend of mine.
15:09 She has five lovely daughters, and I've always been around them playing basketball and stuff.
15:13 Mya's my grandpa.
15:14 He's always was my best friend, so I think I always just remember to play with him.
15:21 Thank you.
15:22 Thanks, everybody.
15:23 Thanks, you guys.
15:24 Thanks for all being here, too.