Colorado-Oklahoma Quotes

Colorado Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller

General
“I thought it was a great challenge for us tonight, and I'm very proud of the team, proud of being in a situation where they could've easily folded when they were down, and I thought they fought back. I liked they way they took advantage of every possession. I thought we could make some adjustments on Courtney Paris in the second half, and it got us back into it.”

“For Oklahoma, they're a better team when Leah Rush is on the floor, and I wasn't at all disappointed that she got into foul trouble. I really like Oklahoma. The only question anyone really asked coming into this was ?How were you going to guard Courtney Paris?' To me, we felt like we could not allow other players to get hot, but all in all, I'm proud of my girls and I feel like there's no doubt in my mind that they have improved from non-conference to Big 12 play.”

On Sr. F Anna Nedovic defending Paris
“I thought Anna Nedovic did the best job. We talked about three-quarter to front and I thought too often Kara (Richards) and sometimes Jackie (McFarland) got behind, but I thought Anna did the best job on limiting [Courtney Paris'] touches.”

On team confidence
“With this group in particular, and individually some people have their bad days or their bad moods, but I really think this team chemistry is pretty strong, and we looked at the schedule. We knew we had 4 of 5 on the road in Big 12 and we knew our only home game was versus Oklahoma.”

“We went into this with a very strong sense of awareness of what was ahead, and as a coach I can come in, and I can beat them up and I can run them and I can do a lot of things, but when I look at them and when they perform and what they do on the floor, the adjustments they've made and the improvements they've made, that's the farthest thing from my mind.”

“We continue to coach them and they continue to get better. I do not think that these three games made anyone look themselves in the mirror and think that they're not as good as they were two weeks ago.”

On the fans
“I truly appreciate them coming out. I thought they were great down the stretch.”

Colorado Players

Jr., F, Jackie McFarland

On Oklahoma's Physical Play
“It may have had a little to do with it (fatigue), but I just think how the game was going in general had more to do with it. There was more of a transitional game today then we have been seeing, a lot of transition running and buckets and the physical play just added to it.”

On Fatigue

“I don't think so, I think OU was just as tired as we were, we just weren't getting the shots we wanted at the end of the game.”

On Courtney Paris

“I think we did a good job defending her, like coach said I think Anna (Nedovic) did a good job defending her, their team just does a good job of getting the ball to the open players and into the post.

“It's always a little deflating to give up a short shot, especially after defending a team or player well for the first 20 seconds of the possession.”

Sr., G/F, Jasmina Ilic

General

“I think as coach said we play well on our home floor and tonight we played a top 10 team at home. I'm proud of our girls not getting down when we were down by 10-12 points and coming back we just had a bad final 10 minutes of the game.”

On Team Hustle

“We play hard every time we are on the floor. We were picked to finish 11th in the Big 12 and we are always trying to prove someone wrong.”

On Scoring a Season High 29 Points

“Of course I liked it, but the big picture is that we lost the game. Personally, I just need to keep shooting the ball well and helping the team win games.”

Oklahoma Head Coach Sherri Coale

GENERAL

“We didn't play with fire, we were uninspired. We missed a bunch of shots. We had a massive cold spell. We need to make better decisions. I'm proud we hung in there. We had respect for CU. They've been very good at home, and good shooting at home. They have more big girls than a lot of teams. We knew they were going to limit Courtney [Paris]. Once [Jasmina] Ilic got in the second half, she just went off.”

ON COURTNEY PARIS

“There is a danger in thinking that whatever she does is not going to be good enough. If you don't pay attention and take her for granted, you fail to see the grandeur. She has played off-the-chart. She makes shots when it matters and she is a great competitor.”

Oklahoma Players

So. C, Courtney Paris

GENERAL

“I've been working on my shots, and I've gotten more confident. Colorado has two big post players in [Jackie] McFarland and (Kara Richards). You always see different things when you play different teams.”