Talkin' Hoops with Gary Blair - Show #9

“I would’ve loved to have had Danielle Adams in the last four minutes of the game. When she fouled out by taking a charge, which was a charge after looking at the film, it was tough to bounce back. You don’t leave it to the officials to make that kind of call. We made some great plays collectively as a team after Danielle went out [to get back in the game]. Sydney Colson made some good plays down the stretch, but also made some mistakes at the end as well. I like our effort and intensity. We played them until the end with just a one possession ballgame at 63-60, while Oklahoma was down by 40 at one point during their matchup against Baylor [on Wednesday night]. I like what we’re doing with this basketball team.”

“Tyra has really had a great year for us. She’s been consistent all year and has had double figures in almost every ballgame, and Danielle Adams has had double figures in every game. The Kansas City duo has really played great this year. I have to get Sydney Carter on track again. She’s playing well in spots, but Odyssey Sims lit her up on Sunday. Melissa Jones came in and made the crucial plays for Baylor on the offensive rebounds against Maryann Baker. She made the plays and that’s why she’s considered one of the 10 best players in the league. We know who we’ve got to beat. We know who the good players are. We just need to realize that we have good players too, and it’s time for us to step up and make the smart decisions.”  

“The Baylor game is over … we’ve turned a page. But I haven’t yet turned a page on the 13,162 in attendance. That was just special. I had a lot of first timers there that’ll come back for all of our remaining games because we’ve got some big games still left on our home schedule. Baylor gave us a back-handed compliment when [Coach Kim Mulkey] said, 'It’s a shame that Gary doesn’t have this type of crowd at every game and it only comes out for Baylor.'  I don’t like how that was worded, but at the same time, she’s got a point. Our fans do come out, but remember … 1,000 fans came from Baylor, and we’re playing them on February 14 in Waco. I want those Aggie fans in Waco in a few weeks for the nationally-televised sellout game on Valentine's night.”

“For Baylor and A&M, you have great players on both teams, two well coached teams and two great fan bases coming out to support their team. We have a lot of fight in our team, but I want execution. When we execute and make good decisions, winning happens. We are trying to teach better so our players can react better. When they react better under situations, then you really know that you have a well-coached team. That’s what my goal is, and if we’re going to go deep into the post-season, I have to have that. I can’t have a freshman come into Reed Arena and run her ball club as well as [Odyssey Sims] did with my best defensive player (Syd Carter) on her. Give credit to Baylor … they beat us fair and square. Let’s make the adjustments, let’s get ready to go to Waco and let's have the best Valentine’s Day you can ever have.”

“We’ve lost the last two years in Lubbock. Last year, Colson couldn’t play and Carter didn’t play well either because she rolled her ankle the day before. It was our worst conference game last season. Tech graduated three seniors this past year, but they have new players that are producing. They’re 16-5, but they’ve lost four in a row. I guarantee you they’re going to come out with fire in their eyes, trying to prove that they deserve to be in the NCAA tournament. They need a signature win, and a signature win means beating A&M, Oklahoma or Baylor.” 

“We gave our kids some needed time off. Monday was completely about being a student. Tuesday we came in and looked at film on the Baylor game and Texas Tech. Wednesday we had a good practice with our men’s [practice] team helping us out, and then we watched some more Tech film. It’s been a good week.”