Q&A with Gabbi Ortiz
Oklahoma’s Gabbi Ortiz said the Sooners will look to bounce back Wednesday night against Kansas after losing to Oklahoma State last weekend.
NORMAN — Until her senior season, Gabbi Ortiz was used to being the point guard of the Oklahoma women’s basketball team.
But with some lineup shuffling and the addition of freshman Shaina Pellington, Ortiz moved an off-the-ball position. As a wing, Ortiz has found her rhythm and is averaging 13.5 points per game. She’s also the Sooners’ best 3-point shooter, knocking down 59 this season.
The Oklahoman caught up with Ortiz, who scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season, before the Sooners’ game against Kansas on Wednesday night (6 p.m., FSOK).
Q: Midway through the conference season, how do you feel the transition to an off-the-ball role is going?
A: “I’ve been able to get more shots up off the ball. It’s gotten a little more challenging for me, once I started hitting shots people started face guarding me ... I’ve got a work a little harder to get my shots, but I’m up for the challenge.”
Did you feel like you were a natural fit in your new role or was it difficult to break point guard habits?
“Before the season started, I would always go to the top because I was so used to getting the ball to set up the play. I’m not doing that as much. It was a little hard to get used to, but playing the 2 is easy. No thought has to go into it, it is more of a simple position. That part wasn’t hard it was more of not having the ball in my hand was different.”
How important is the Kansas game following the three-point loss in Bedlam?
“It’s huge. I don’t know if that game killed our confidence — I hope not. We had that game. We played so well. Obviously there are things we needed to do better, but it was a great game of basketball. It hurt my heart, it hurt our hearts. This is such a response game because we need to get our momentum back, we need to get some wins going and we need to take it one game at a time. Kansas is up next, and I think we need to come out and show them our aggressiveness and our anger.”