Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-Texas Postgame Quotes
March 12, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Texas Quotes
Head Coach Jody Conradt
Opening remarks...
"That was a grinder. It was a game where we just had to gut it up and figure out a way to win. You always tell teams that there are going to be those nights where the ball will not drop through the bucket. I don't know how many point-blank shots we had that I thought were in and came out. But when you tell them that is going to happen, you tell them also then to buckle up and play defense until things get better and they did that tonight. I don't want to overlook the fact that Colorado played great. They are a very good team that executes well. Defensively, they really get after you and that bothered us for a big part of the ballgame. But when it comes time for us to really starting making plays, we did. When you have 19 offensive rebounds, then you give credit to your team for staying after it. I couldn't be prouder of a group than I am of this group and they just fought tonight."
On what she told them at halftime...
"There really wasn't much wisdom to it. I think that I've said to the this team an any number of times, 'We're okay. Let's just keep playing. Don't panic. Let's not get down on ourselves. Stay up. I fussed at them at half. I did. I was probably as tough on them at halftime as I have been (all year). But I thought that they would respond. I just didn't want them to get their heads down and then not keep playing. It wasn't anything that was very laid with wisdom. It was just trying to keep them up beat and to stay positive."
On the team's focus on shooting versus rebounding...
"It took us a little while for us to figure out that we weren't going to make some of those shots. I thought we settled for the perimeter shot too many times in the first half and a few in the second half. That was one of the things we talked about. Let's not settle for the jump shot and that was part of the disciplen on the offensive end. Defensively, we started trying to go for steals and didn't play positions and didn't follow the game plan. We went too long without Stacy Stephens getting the ball in her hands. All of that is disciplen I talked about at halftime."
Kala Bowers, Guard/Forward, So.
On not making many shots in the first five minutes...
"Since the shots weren't going in, we needed to make sure that you aren't taking as many outside shots. And that we are trying to get to the hole and get those easy one-foot shots."
Stacy Stephens, Forward/Center, Jr.
On what was said at halftime...
"She fussed at the whole team. It wasn't any particular person or anything like that. The forward players needed to be moving around more in there and the guards needed to put more pressure on the ball. It was more of a team fussing out than anything."
On the game against Tera Bjorklund...
"I think in the second half our guards got on their guards. They put a lot of ball pressure on them and they couldn't set up their offense inside of their comfort zone, which makes the pass inside a lot harder. It gives me and the other post player more time to move around and give Tera different looks. So I credit the guards a lot for changing Tera's offense in the second half."
Heather Schreiber, Forward, So.
On not making many shot in the first five minutes of the game...
"I think we have to forget about it and work hard on the defensive end. I think it tells everybody to go to the offensive boards with more shots just rolling out. So if you want to get an easy shot you need to crash the boards.."
Colorado Quotes
Coach Ceal Barry
Opening Comments:
"I thought the guard pressure forced us into quite a few turnovers. The differential in the turnover department gave them [Texas] a lot of extra opportunities and the offensive boards with Stacy Stephens [Texas] was tremendous tonight."
On the turning point of the game:
"The turning point was the charging call against Tera [Bjorklund] that [Stacy] Stephens took, it was a low post move. It was a pretty close game right then, and it was a call that went against us. The call set the tone for the rest of the game. I think it was tough on Tara and it changed the tempo of the game. It gave Texas extra energy. I told the team in the locker room that you have to learn to play through that kind of thing."
Tera Bjorklund, Junior Center
On the difference between Texas' second half defense:
"The first half they were giving a lot away. In the second half there was a lot more pressure, especially from the weak side. They came out a lot more aggressive which made it harder to get the ball to the inside."
On the pace of the first half:
We had to slow our offense down. The first few minutes were really fast so we slowed down and passed the ball around, and that is what helped us out."
Sabrina Scott, Senior Guard
On the defense played by Texas' guards:
"Well, they called a time and came back out and increased their pressure. They picked it up and we didn't respond. It is something we are going to have to work on before the NCAA tournament."
On whether or not they ran out of energy:
"Our loss wasn't because of energy. We didn't respond to their [Texas] defense and we turned the ball over a lot. It was a matter of execution of our plays. Not energy."
