Colorado University Athletics
Quotes
December 03, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller
General
"We have to be happy with the victory, and most importantly the second half. In the first half our post defense left a lot to be desired. We allowed too much penetration that left our bigs exposed. I thought we came out in the second half with a lot of energy. I think a lot of our offense was generated by our defense. The ball pressure and the passing lane steals got them going. Bianca's [Smith] three was big. It really ignited us in the second half. I'm really proud of our overall performance, especially with some of our younger players. They consistently get better every time they step on the floor."
On Brittany's Injury in the Second Half
"This year has been full of challenges for us, with concussions, minor injuries, and illnesses. It has really been a balancing act for our trainer. There has been a lot that has really nagged this team. I did want Spears off the floor. I had somebody on the table waiting for her, because I didn't want her to get hurt. When she goes down, the heart skips a beat."
On Outshooting Opponents
"We played a high possession game. I thought we were more aggressive in the second half. The two games this weekend, I thought we settled too much for threes. Teams are changing defenses on us consistently. They're going from zone to man. They're trapping. They're pressing us a little bit at times with Chucky [Jeffrey] at the point. It puts her on her heels a little bit as far as what she's calling and what she's doing. She spends a lot of time with Brittany [Spears]. They do a lot of stuff together. She's early on in her career. The first couple games she has settled a lot for three's. That is not Chucky's game. Chucky is around the rim. She is a jump shooter. When you have players that are able to drive and can create some shots it helps. It has to do with the pressure and breakaways and the easy lay-ups that we're getting. Last year we didn't get easy buckets. We didn't get steals. We didn't get anything out of our defense. We literally had to play defense for twenty or twenty-five seconds and we were always playing five-on-five. This year we're playing a lot of three-on-two and two-on-one with break-away lay-ups, and they like it. There are times I have to pull them back because I feel like they're a little tired, but it shows me they're aggressive and want the basketball."
On Senior Center Courtney Dunn
"I just played her. I tried everything else. I told her 'The last thing is, I'm putting you in the line-up. This is really it.' She's got the biggest upside of any player on the team. She can score on the block. She can shoot the three. She is athletic. She can put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. When she puts her mind to it, and she's committed to doing it, she will do it. Tonight was the first night that she ever asked me to put her in the game. When she went out with four, she didn't like sitting there for very long. That was a very good sign. I put her in right away."
On Chucky Jeffrey
"I couldn't wait for her to get here. She's instinctive. I would love to take credit for Chucky Jeffrey and the things she does, but I'm just here to raise her game to another level. She came in a very good player with good offensive skills, great anticipation on the defensive end, and she makes us better when she's on the floor. She makes everybody around her look good and she's committed to getting better. I know I driver her crazy. I know sometimes she looks at me and has no idea why I'm yelling at her. When you have players like that, as coaches you don't want to sit back and allow them to be complacent. You want to raise their level of play every game."
On Playing Seton Hall Sunday
"I feel better most importantly about our defense; some decisions that we're making and the concepts that we've been able to drill over the past month. Things are clicking for them and they're starting to feel good about it. Last year the trip where we saw Seton Hall was very tough for us. We had two trips back east. They came out and they never let up. I remember in the locker room talking to the team about that particular game and what had happened. I said, 'Just remember how you feel right now.' We will go back and look at some edits from that game and refresh the memory a little bit. We're a different team today. We've got different players. We have players that are still in the program and we're in a different place right now."
Colorado Players
Chucky Jeffery, Fr., G
ON TEAMS PLAY -"Usually in the first half we settle a lot. We needed to pick it up. I think there is always something on defense that can spark the whole team, and that's when we start to go. When coach called that play I knew we were going to get it. I knew that we were going to come back out in the second half and have the momentum. We got on the floor and we went after it."
Courtney Dunn, Sr., C
ON THEIR APPROACH TO GAME TODAY -"Coach Miller and Coach McConnell approached me and told me I needed to be more of an inside presence, instead of settling for three's. I took that to hart and went out and executed today."
ON TAKING THE NEXT STEP -"I'm going to try to be more consistent in practice. I have been told I tend to slack off in practice, but I'm going to try to keep it up and bring it out in games."
Brittany Spears, Jr., F
ON INJURY TO HER LIP -"Yeah it's alright. Don't I still look good though?"
Denver Head Coach Erik Johnson
On Kaetlyn Murdoch
"Kaetlyn has been an offensive machine for us this year. She is shooting 60% from the field, that's going to go up. She shot 10 of 15 tonight. She is taking care of the basketball. Obviously she can block shots, but we need a little more from her. She needs to be a complete player. There is a reason why she was freshman of the year in the conference last year. She was also picked for the all-conference team this year. She is just that kind of player. "
On Changes In Game Momentum
"The game changed the last three minutes of the first half. We had a one point lead and they went on a 15-4 run that last media timeout. We turned the ball over -they got a layup...we make a stupid foul at the end of the shot clock, we give her two free throws and then a three on the buzzer because we don't switch the screen. We made mistakes, but what Colorado does so well is that they capitalize on them. Not all teams are able to capitalize that well. Colorado did a great job. Suddenly it's a 10 point lead and in the second half they continued to assert their will. We turned the ball over too many times. They were able to drive past us and our rotations got weak. I think we need to adapt and we weren't able to play with the same kind of energy we started with."
On Playing On The Road
"Playing on the road, we're 40 minutes away from home. One of our last road games was at Air Force so that's only an hour away. I don't count those as away games. We slept in our own beds, we shot in our own gym. We can play other places. Altitude doesn't bother us being from Denver. We are going to go California. We have two great games in northern California that I think are winnable games. We have to learn how to win on the road, that's why you play non- conference games. That's why you play opponents like Colorado on the road. When we get into the Sunbelt play, we need these to be wins."
Denver Assistant Coach Shelley Sheetz
On Returning To Colorado
"It is always special coming back. We had some great times back in the early '90's. We had some great teams back in the day when Ceal Barry was the head coach here. It's always special coming back to this place. It's my Alma Mater, and now im coming back to coach. It's a little different from the other side."
