Colorado-Marquette Quotes

Colorado Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller

GENERAL?“I think it was a great run, I'm very proud of them, just their resilience and their ability to bounce back. I'm proud of the way they competed at this level in the postseason. We just got down in the first half and couldn't recover. Marquette is a very balanced team and it was a struggle in the first half offensively. We couldn't get anything going and defensively we were giving up a lot, we couldn't come together on either end of the floor. The second half, that was the team that got us to this point, but it's the post-season and you can't get down 25 and be able to make a run like that against a great team. I'm proud to be their coach and I'm proud of the way they responded.”

ON SENIORS?“Jackie McFarland and Susie Powers will be missed dearly. They've brought so much to this program. Coors Events Center door will always be open to them and this will always be their team and they will always have a place to come home to. I feel like I'm a better coach as a result of coaching these two and they have contributed so much to this university on and off the floor and they will be missed.”

ON EXPERIENCE FROM POST-SEASON?“It has helped a great deal, they were a little surprised that the season was this long. I thought our staff and some of the older players did a good job in practice in making it competitive and fun. I think we got better on the things that we needed to focus on, we made it competitive, made it challenging and really had a fresh start. The majority of the players responded and that was exciting for us as coaches. To be playing this long, it is something you draw upon. It helps your team, they might not know it now, but down the road they will realize it and draw upon it. The practice and experience is valuable and we have become stronger as a group because of the post-season.”

Colorado Players

Sr, G, Susie Powers

ON CU's TOURNAMENT RUN - “Some of my favorite memories as a buffalo have come from this tournament. My entire time at cu some of the practice. Something about going into the post season is special. This isn't where I wanted it to end, however this was a really good way to go out on our floor. Everyone was saying that there hadn't been a Colorado team playing at the Coors Events Center in April, and we did it; so that is pretty special.

ON THE PROGRAM'S FUTURE - “A lot of players got a lot of opportunities to play in post season, and they stepped up and did it. I'm excited because I'm a Colorado kid and I'll be able to make it to a few games in the future. So the future is looking up for this program.”

Sr, F, Jackie McFarland

ON PLAYING HER LAST GAME- “I don't think it really hit me tonight until I left the court. We still had a lot of confidence after being down, we've come back from big deficits in the last two games, but tonight we just couldn't put it together. You always hope for the best, but this time it didn't come in. I'm still going to keep trying to play, but playing in the big12, in division one and at C.U., is a special experience that is unrivaled.

ON CU's TOURNAMENT RUN - “I couldn't imagine a better way of going out, other then cutting down the nets in the finals. Where we our, it has been really special. The last three games with the fan support and the community coming around our team has been amazing. It's been a while since I've had this much fun playing basketball.”

So, G, Bianca Smith

ON MARQUETTE's DEFENSE - "They played really good defense and they were in our face any chance we got. Anytime [Brittany] Spears or I took a shot, it was contested. They were just in our shorts for forty minutes. At halftime our heads were up and we were ready to come out and go on a big run to get back in the game, so we were prepared.”

So, G, Whitney Houston

ON HER GROWTH FROM THE TOURNAMENT -“This tournament run has made me more focused and matured. I know how to run the offense better, once I started getting into the offense more, I matured more as a point guard for this team.”

Marquette Head Coach Terri Mitchell

GENERAL
“This is about focus. Our players made the decision coming in that we would do something special tonight. We focused on the defense, being unselfish and screening well. We wanted to change the tempo and use the clock. Colorado gets inside and shoots well. We knew that Colorado started slowly, but we know that they're the ?Comeback Kids' and so we needed to push the tempo. Now we have to focus on resting. We need to hydrate, rest, and come out with a lot of energy.”

ON F JACKIE MCFARLAND?“She's hard to defend one-on-one. We had to put pressure on her and that ball pressure helped.”

ON G KRYSTAL ELLIS?“When more is on the line, she steps up. She's having fun now, with other people looking to score. It's a big difference when a player has rhythm and has fun.

ON THE SECOND HALF?“The second half wasn't as successful and I was concerned. The crowd is great, it's a fun environment to play in. Colorado had intensity and fire coming into the second half, and we didn't match that at first.

Marquette Players

Jr., G, Krystal Ellis

GENERAL - “Our coach just kept telling us to keep composure when we were up. We knew McFarland was good in post to it was key to pressure the guards. I love big crowds. They (Colorado) was a nice crowd, I like to play against crowds like that.”

Fr., G, Angel Robinson

GENERAL ? “Our defense is key, as soon as we get our defense going, our offense goes too. McFarland was a big focus for us, she is a key player. We knew we had to pressure the guards and make it hard for them to see. We definitely knew we had to double up on McFarland. All of us guards think to attack, and that is a huge role for me being on this team?attack, attack, attack. This was a fun game. It's great we're playing so well and we're having fun. It's a great time to be playing.”