Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-Harvard Quotes
November 29, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller
Opening Statement
"First and foremost, I just want to tell you how incredible of a team I think Harvard is. They're smart, fundamental, they execute their system. They understand time and score and we knew coming into this game that we were going to have a battle. There is a great deal of respect from our program going to their program; even more so after the game, but we had a great deal of it going in. Clearly the main question is: how do you go to a freshman at the end of the game? The determining factor at that point was how Chucky (Jeffery) handled that possession at the end of the first half; we had set it up for a drive and she had gone a little too early, but with that said she made it. Then they came down and hit a three. At the end of the game, 33 seconds and three second differential on the shot clock, basically ran a variation of the play and at that time really dictated the time she went to the rim and had our two shooters spotted up waiting on her. She executed it and I'm proud of her. Proud of the fact the ball was in the freshman's hands the last three possessions of the game. Overall, it's been a great tournament and a great challenge to us. Three teams and two great games for us. Tonight, we had our challenges as far as the defense is concerned. They switched it up from a man-to-man to a zone, kept us on our toes and took time away from our possessions consistently. Fortunately for us we hit shots and made plays down the stretch."
On the Last Play
"I thought that we had settled so much for the three and at that point we needed to get to the rim. At that moment, Chucky was the one that had the energy to get to the rim. She was being defended by a smaller player, versus (Brittany) Spears who had 6-3 on her, Chucky had someone smaller on her and the ability to get to the rim and the free throw line. That was really determining and the fact they were hugging our two shooters and the three possessions before that she was able to get to the rim."
On Chucky Jeffery
"She is special. She's very special. She's grown up her whole life playing against guys. Her mentality is give me the ball and I can score, I can do this. Chucky and I have had a very interesting week. I have been on her consistently since we got back from Minnesota. I just continue to raise the bar for her. She does something well, that's great, but the expectations get higher and higher. There are times she looks at me and asks what do you want from me? I'm going to tell her when she's playing well, and tell her when she needs to play better and play harder. She is a good player and we can recognize that, but we know she has a lot of room to grow. She's the kind of player that has the mentality that she needs to be on the floor. She struggles coming off the bench, that's the one thing I noticed. We brought Chucky Jeffery here to play, we brought Chucky Jeffery here to make a difference. Chucky had a lot of options coming out, and when she is on the floor she is a difference maker. I'm excited to have her."
On Close Games
"It's been a rough couple weeks. I will definitely sleep better tonight than I did last night or the nights to leading up to this. It's exciting now that we have more options. In late-game situations, it's always been Brittany, Brittany, Brittany. This time we go to Chucky. Bianca (Smith) hit shots. Meagan Malcolm-Peck comes up with some great deflections that led to lay-ups. We have options, next game we can go to Chucky or Brittany Spears depending on how they play us. You love winning games like this, but would it be easier if they were larger? Yes, I would love that. But it is what it is. We're playing young players that are consistently making mistakes, doing great things, challenging. Again I give credit to Harvard though.
On the Omni Hotels Classic
"Bianca said to me after the game, 'All we had to do was change the name of the tournament and we'd be alright.' I do want to thank the Omni and the contribution that they have made to the tournament has made this a first-class tournament not only for ourselves, but for our opponents as well. We're very appreciative of their contribution."
Colorado Players
Bianca Smith, Sr., G
ON PERFORMING OFF OF THE BENCH -"It doesn't matter to me whether I start or come off the bench. I just want to do whatever I have to get my teammates a victory. Tonight I just came out and tried to focus, set my feet and knock down shots. Not only me but my teammates were driving to the basket and providing me with open shots. I can't take all the credit I give most the credit to them and Chucky [Jeffery] for her penetration, KJ [Kelly Jo Mullaney] penetrating. I think today we didn't settle for the three, but we made the extra pass and got a lot of extra looks."
ON ABLITILY TO WIN TIGHT GAMES -"I think it helps us realize that we are a resilient team and we are a tough team. I know Coach doesn't really like these close games, but I think it's a positive that we can come out with a win in close games. That gives us the mental toughness that we can go into the Big 12 and if the game is close we have the confidence to come out with a victory."
ON GIVING BALL TO FRESHMAN IN FINAL SECONDS-"I think it says a lot. Chucky [Jeffery] is a great player. I've known that from the first day she stepped on campus she was going to do special things here. She came right in and picked up the offense, and when we played pick-up she was right there in the thick of things. Tonight when Coach Miller put the ball in her hands for the last shot I knew she was going to come through for us. She's a confidant player, she has a notch for the ball. She is great on defense, she is just an all around great player. I think we are going to need her throughout the season and the Big 12. Now that she has the confidence to come down and hit the game winning shot that is going to do a lot for out team."
Brittany Spears, Jr., F
ON WINNING OWN TOURNAMENT -"We finally got one. Yesterday Coach Miller was like 'You haven't won one since you've been here.' So we won one finally so she [Coach McConnell-Miller] can't tell us that any more."
Chucky Jeffery, Fr., G
ON GAME WINNING SHOT -"It's real exciting. Being a freshman and the Coaches trusting me enough to put the ball in my hands to make the last shot feels real good. I'm so excited."
ON INCREASEING ROLE ON THE TEAM -"I just continue to keep growing. Coach says that she is going to keep raising the bar on me. She's not going to let up, and I don't plan to let up either. I just plan to keep on growing."
Harvard Assistant Coach Bri Fecteau
On Momentum Swings in Game
"For us, I think it was a really good game. We came out very focused. Colorado is a great team; they have many weapons. We had to play our best game, which I think we did. We did a good job on Brittany Spears; we held her to 11 points. It was a streaky game because we're still a young team, so we kind of go in spurts at times. But I thought we did a good job today putting 40 minutes together, but Colorado did a great job of adjusting to our ability and what we were doing. Number 2 [Bianca Smith] came out swinging, and we just couldn't stop her."
On Losing Second Half Lead
"We were playing against a very talented team with a lot of scorers. I think if we have a lapse for one minute, they kind of get going. I think again, we did a great job adjusting to what they were doing. Eventually we learned how to stop number 2. We did a great job defensively."
On Playing Back-to-Back Nights
"I think in the first game we noticed a little difference playing in the location we are in. But in our Ivy League schedule we play back to back so we're used to it."
On Overall Tournament
"We loved it. The people are really nice out there. The Omni Hotel is amazing. Our kids have really enjoyed it. We're doing a little sightseeing tomorrow. We are happy to be here, it was a great tournament."
