Colorado University Athletics
Baylor-Colorado Quotes
January 10, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller
General
“I am extremely proud of them of the way they executed the game plan. I'm proud of the way they fought and their mental toughness. They grew and matured a lot today. They're becoming a team that is a lot easier and more fun to coach. It's exciting to know that one year ago you take away one player and you take away Colorado. Right now we have a lot of different players that can step up for us. The difference in the end of the game is that Baylor made the big time plays and shots. They took care of the basketball and we had a few unforced turnovers. Once you get to this place where you feel good about their performance, you have to keep going. You can't take steps back now. We have the players in place and a good rotation. If I could change one thing it would to go into the bench a little more.”
On Second Half Shooting
“I thought we were a little tight. I can name several shots that were some good looks, but we just didn't knock them down. I credit Baylor with making the big time shots, we just didn't.”
On Being Outscored in the Paint
“Baylor's best offense is on second chance opportunities. A lot of their looks are not out of what they ran, but on broken plays and missed shots. We did a great job of taking them out of their sets, but they were able to score once we took them out of their sets. We are not a front court team, and that's where they (Baylor) get their points- in the paint.”
On Baylor's Defense
“They completely denied our guards and wings. We weren't effective with our counters. We became a little stagnant and didn't react to what the defense was giving us.”
On CU's Play Down the Stretch
“I thought we pressed as a result of the score down the stretch. It is a result of never being in that position, having the ball in your hands with the game on the line. We grew as a team today. We are going to watch the film, and watch what we did wrong. I don't think the team is going to walk away too disappointed in their performance, but of course, with the outcome, we are all disappointed.”
Kara Richards, Sr., C ON HER PERFORMANCE- “I was looking at the stats and they said I was 3-8 [from the field], and for a post player that's not very good. I traveled a couple of times. I had six turnovers, but one thing that I think I Improved on was fouls. I think as a team we played better on defense. ” ON THE LOSS?“We weren't disappointed in our effort. I just wish we would have won.” Britney Blythe, So., G ON THREE-POINT SHOOTING? “I have been getting in the gym extra and shooting more after practice. Coach wanted me to contribute a little more and just let it flow. I also need to contribute more on the floor. I'm a point guard, and my job is to distribute the ball. I had some looks that didn't go down. Getting open looks isn't hard when I'm surrounded by the guards that we have. Spears and Smith drew a lot of the attention and I was able to get some open shots.” General “Winning on the road is difficult. Our defense was very good. Our defense has been good all year. I just thought our defense guarded them. I am not sure that Colorado had what I would consider just open looks. They have some players who have not been shooting like they were shooting tonight. Particularly the point guard [Britney Blythe], but she didn't take easy shots. I thought we always were around the ball. Our defense was special. I just thought our defense was good. Down the stretch fatigue set it for both teams. Both were excited for the first game of the year and we got some transition buckets when fatigue set in and we kept pushing and pushing trying to get some cleaner shots than we were getting in the half court setting.” On Kara Richards and Danielle Wilson “Well she [Kara Richards] is a big presence on their team. She was the biggest player on the floor, and we got good position blocking her out. She was still able to get rebounds without fouling. I have got to go with the kid who is pretty big. If she [Danielle Wilson] fouled out, she fouled out. Our bench gave us everything they could. I felt they didn't get a lot of minutes, but I thought they were solid.” On Holding Colorado to One FG in the Last 4 Minutes “You score 22 points in a half, that doesn't just happen. That's people guarding. I am very proud of our defense. I thought that we were active. We got into the passing lanes. They couldn't just come down and run an offense and make a basket. We were very active in the passing lanes. We work on it [defense] every day. Every day, every day, every day, every day. You are going to have off night offensively, but you can always play defense. These kids will tell you, we wear it out in practice.” On Keeping the Ball Away from Spears “I thought (Jessica) Morrow was the best we had on the perimeter guarding. Morrow is about her size, maybe a tad smaller, but she has long range and long arms. If Spears takes a shot, at least she has got a kid with longer range contesting the shot more, so than any other player I have. I thought that Jessica Morrow's defense on Spears was good. That kid was the second leading scorer in the league and she had 14, so we kept her under her average. Morrow hit some big shots late in the lane there. When you ask a kid to do a lot on the defensive end, sometimes they struggle on the offensive end. I don't think she struggled. I think she just didn't get the ball.” On Starting the Conference on the Road with a Win “It's big. This league is tough. You are going to understand how important every win is when you are done with all 13 games. No one wants to start out on the road. But it was a good crowd. I wish Melissa Jones could have played more. MJ is one of our key players, but she didn't get as many minutes today. She starts for us sometimes. I am glad that Melissa Jones is at Baylor. She is going to be a Big-12 player before she leaves here.” Danielle Wilson, Jr., C ON WATCHING FROM THE BENCH -“It is (difficult), but at the same time when my teammates go in they are going to do the best they can. They are going to get open shots, rebounds, and do everything that I would do if I was in. It's nice to get a little breather, unlike last year when you didn't get a lot of breaks.” ON COMING BACK SLOWER AFTER THE BREAKS AND THE HALF?“It's not really normal, but you know once we pick it up, we are going to pick it up especially on the defensive end. Getting into the passing lanes, blocking shots, and things like that.” ON THE TEAM'S CONTINUED SUCCESS?“I'm really comfortable. Our bench is great this year. They just come out and they know what the coach expects of them.”
ON THE LOSS?“We came out aggressive and we didn't let Baylor walk all over us in our house. But we need to move on and get back in the gym and work on the things that we need to improve on as a team.”Baylor Head Coach Kim Mulkey
Baylor Players
