Colorado University Athletics
Colorado 86, North Carolina 67
March 23, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Ceal Barry
ON TERA BJORKLUND: "I think she was really tested at the free throw line. She really didn't get a chance early to do anything because she was tested at the free throw line and I think part of North Carolinas strategy was to rough her up a little bit and to be a little bit physical. A lot of teams look at her stature and think she's going to be susceptible to physical play. I think she responded well to that. She took pretty much a beating and I imagine she will be pretty sore tomorrow.
"I think part of it is that Lappe and Sabrina (Scott) are such good passers. They feed her and they feed her and they are pretty unselfish about that. Tera is enjoying herself and she is having fun. Her demeanor is really, really good for a college player."
ON SENIORS: "Lappe and Sabrina (Scott) are real key. I almost had to force myself to take her (Scott) out. They are two of our best players, they are also two of our most experience players. I think what they provide is a sense of composure like all seniors do more so than a sense of urgency. However, I think all players at this point in the season have a sense o f urgency.
ON FAGAN AND SCOTT'S THREES: "They were really timely shots. I told them at halftime that we had shot 15 threes and I don't think we took a bad three. I don't think there was a bad shot, there were quick threes early, but not really a bad three. I said if you got 15 threes off in the first half, you are going to have some open shots on the outside and I think that was kind of a code to them like 'oh, we're allowed to shoot them,' so I said 'take them.'"
ON DEFENSE: "I think at this point you advance with defense. We weren't going to win the game whether we defended or were scoring early or not. I think our defense early needed to be solid for 40 minutes."
ON POSSIBLE REMATCH WITH VILLANOVA: Either team, I don't want to comment on who we're playing until we know. I think we kind of digest this one and enjoy it until we know. We get some travel
ON GETTING TO SWEET 16: I'm really happy for all the players. It's always a process to take a team from Oct. 12 to March 24 and there's always bumps and bruises along the way. I'm especially happy from Di Spencer, Sabrina Scott and Linda Lappe that they get to finish their career here with a win."
Colorado Players
C Tera Bjorklund,
GENERAL: "I thought our team just came out and played really well right from the beginning. We played with a lot of intensity.
ON HER SHOOTING: "It had a lot to do with our outside players getting good passes into me. I think anybody can relate to that, when things are just falling for you and you are just really, really focused. I felt pretty confident tonight. So, I definitely was in the zone."
G Kate Fagan
ON HER SHOOTING: "We just had the philosophy to find the open player. We ran a lot of triangle options and it just so happened that we ran a lot of triangle screens or coming off an option and I got an open look."
ON TERA BJORKLUND: "It's obvious that we have one of the best centers in the nation, not only does she score, but she opens up a lot of things for (Linda) Lappe and myself and Sabrina (Scott). She is just a focal point for our offense and our their defense."
ON FREE THROW SHOOTING: "I think the reason we got to the line so much is when you look at Tera (Bjorklund), who had 17 free throw shots, was because we were pounding it into Tera (Bjorklund) so much. A lot of their offense, their guards, were taking a lot of outside shots, so our focal point was to get it into Tera and down low and that's going to have an influence on how many fouls we draw and how many they get."
G/F Linda Lappe
ON THE CROWD: "Our crowd was great tonight and I think they were great because we did a lot of good things, we were playing defense and the crowd loves it when we play defense. That kind of got them into it and we were knocking down big shots. Kate (Fagan) and Sabrina (Scott) both hit huge shots when North Carolina was making a run."
North Carolina Head Coach Sylvia Hatchell
GENERAL: "We'd like to say congratulations to Colorado they played a great game. It was pretty simple the difference in the game was the foul line."
ON TERA BJORKLUND: "She had a great game. It's hard to believe that kid didn't start last year. What it says in the book, she sat on the bench. She sure has improved a lot and come quite far."
ON EARLY FOULS: "We can't talk about officiating but we were just doing what we did all year. Were in a different part of the country so, you know.
"We were trying different people on her and giving her different looks and just doing what we've done all year and we've played some really good post players."
ON WHETHER THE GAME SHOULD BE IN CHAPEL HILL: "I've been asked that a lot every press conference we've had here and before I came here. When the pre-determined sites were announced from day one I've been vocally against it. What do you play the regular season for. I think my team earned the right to play in Chapel Hill. Now would things have been different if we played in Chapel Hill, I think you can say so. I told the TV people that we were the highest seeded team that had to go play on another's home court. Why do you play a regular season? You have to think what is fair for the student athletes. Life is not always fair, but this is the situation now, this is the rule now and you just have to deal with it. It's not sour grapes, you all just kept asking me and asking me, that's just how I feel."
ON GAME TEMPO: "I can't answer why we missed those shots and all. We like the up-tempo, it's usually in our favor, but it wasn't tonight. The way the game started off, it got us out of our rhythm. We got a little more timid and hesitant with as often as the game was being stopped."
ON UNC DEFENSE: "I think we were just doing what we've done all year. This is a difference part of the country, but we just did what we've done all year."
ON PLAYING CEAL FOR THE FIRST TIME: "I've known Ceal a long time. She does a great job and I knew they'd be well prepared. We've got a lot of films on them...they played a lot better than the games we've seen. They would have beat a lot of people tonight. It would take a really good team to beat them tonight, especially here, with the flow of the game."
North Carolina Players
C Candace Sutton
ON TERA BJORKLUND: "I think she made a big impact for the team. In the first half she had a majority of her team's points. Like you said coach had to rotate people in, but we could not stop her. A lot of her success came once she got good positioning."
F/G Nikita Bell
ON ALTITUDE: "I'm definitely going to leave this game with my head up. I'm glad we went out fighting and I'm very proud of this coaching staff and just proud over everybody."
