Colorado University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
November 21, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Ceal Barry
GENERAL-"I would call this a big win and the reason I call this a big win is that there are so many unknowns for our team. So many new starters and I respect rice as a program and I respect Rice's team. They won 21 games last year. We're not down too often at halftime, and we don't give up 40 points in the first half too often, and we don't let the opposing team shoot 64 percent too often. And so it was big for us in the sense that we were down, we we're playing too well and we really regrouped in the second half and really put some more pressure on them defensively and turned things around. I thought individually Sabrina, Lappe and Tera showed a lot of leadership and composure for us on the perimeter."
ON THE RICE SHOOTING-"I thought if they could do it in one half, they could do it in another half the way we played. They're a good team. If we don't have a hand in their ace, if we're not challenging them to make tough shots, it'll go for them. It wasn't so much that they were great shooters. It was that the shots they got were pretty good shots. I think at halftime I challenged Sy to get up and out play Lawson in the second half and get up and make her work harder and don't let her run that offense with so much composure. And I thought Syreeta came out hard. The difference in the game was the first three minutes of the second half. Right away, we could have rolled over or bent, or we can go right at them, right in the beginning."
ON THE FOUL SITUATION-"I think that the crowd responds to some things, lights the fire. Everything makes a difference in a ball game. I like the resolve of Tera when she gets an offensive foul and comes back and goes at it again, because this time, 'I'm going to make it, and if it doesn't go in, get an offensive rebound and put it back in.'"
Colorado Players
Guard Syreeta Stafford
GENERAL- "We just came out in the game knowing that we did want to loose this game. This was the first time that I had started a game where we had been down by one at the half. In the second half we really came together as a team. We told one another to overplay their guy, and we would help each other. We had a lot of fun out there and we came out with the victory."
ON HER INDIVIDUAL PLAY-"In the first half I came out trying to force shots and do too much. I wasn't having any success and I think it hurt my confidence. In the second half I came out and just tried to have fun, and played much better."
Guard Kate Fagan
THREE POINT ATTEMPTS-"I was a little jittery in the first half and had a difficult time knocking down my shots. I felt I got in a rhythm in the second half. I was able to set my feet and shoot the ball. Once they started falling I was feeling a lot better."
Center Tera Bjorklund
FOULS-"You can't let the fouls bother you. You just have to go out and keep playing your game. If you let them get in your mind they can distract and frustrate you. Coach Barry just told me to go out there and keep doing what you're doing and I did. My mentality was to just keep taking the ball to the hole and it worked. Later on in the game, I was able to get a little rest. I think that helped me move my feet more and stay out of trouble with my four fouls."
Rice Head Coach Cristy McKinney
On Overall Impressions: "Colorado played a heck of a lot better. They executed a lot more, and played the way they intended to play. We did not."
On C Tera Bjorklund: "She is a really talented post. You have to guard her well, and we did not. We were not smart about it."
On Free Throws: "You don't always expect to get calls on the road, but you don't expect to get shut out either. They [Colorado] were the more aggressive team, and we weren't. We should have been the more aggressive team."
On Three Point Shooting: We took some shots in the second half that we shouldn't have taken. We should have driven more, but overall I'd say we had a pretty good game as far as three pointers are concerned."
On Colorado Defense: "We did not react well when they pressured us. We were tentative, and backed away for the most part."
On The Rest of the Season: "We just have to play better. I expect us to play a lot better."
Rice Players
C Johnetta Hayes Difference in shooting between halves-"We came out determined in the first half. In the second half we laid down, did not play as hard. We can't lie down against a good team."
On her early foul trouble-"My early fouls did not have as big effect on the game. It rattled me a bit, but I got back in the game quickly."
On scoring in transition-"CU changed the momentum. We should have been able to stop them instead of running with them. We should have done a better job in transition."
On expectations coming into the game-"We expected to win, to give it all we have. We as a team could have done a better job. We have to finish. Colorado is a good team. We are a good team. We have to maintain our intensity. It was a good learning experience. We are a young team, a good team. This just makes us stronger."
