Colorado University Athletics
Nebraska-Colorado Quotes
January 30, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller
General
"There is no doubt that Nebraska is one of the top teams in the country and in the conference. They have a very solid starting five. I would match them up with any starting five in the country. I think that the most underrated player on the floor is Lindsey Moore. She allows [Yvonne] Turner and [Dominique] Kelly to play their natural positions. I think that we worked hard. Defensively I think we made adjustments and were effective at times. But we did not limit Kelsey Griffin's inside touches at all. We also got into foul trouble that led to 3 point plays for them. It was a struggle for us, and we need to improve in that area. We improved in rebounding, and shooting percentage today. But tonight was a tough night, and I am pleased with about 36 minutes, but I am not pleased with how we ended the game."
On Nebraska's older team
"We talk about that all the time, especially with Chucky [Jeffery]. She has seen some of the best players in the league in four straight games, and she is going to make some mistakes, but she is growing. But that is where our young players are going to be as seniors. Nebraska's older players have started virtually every game in their careers, and they have just continued to improve in their system. They are battle tested, and fought the fight consistently in this conference. And this conference is not for the average player; it is not for the player that doubts themselves, but for a player who has an arrogance or confidence about themselves, who can stand up every night and continue to take the hits. We just have to keep battling and keep playing. I am not disappointed with the younger players or the performance. But at times there is a frustration that sets in with where we are and where we want to be, but they are battling night in and night out. What they did against a top team in the country says a lot."
On upcoming games
"I like to try to put things in perspective, but most importantly I try to take it game-by-game. You want to look at the big picture. I just don't want this team to look ahead and see we are playing some tough teams. It is one game at a time. We are at Baylor, and we have an off week for us which comes at a great time. We have to get back in the flow, and we have some time to look at where we are and where we need to be."
On needing a win
"Any win is a good win. It does not matter where you are. It is just a battle every game. You can talk to any coach in the conference and they will tell you it is a tough battle night in and night out. You always have to bring you best."
On trailing early in the game
"We don't want to be this comeback team. We do have the mentality to do it if we need to. They don't mind the score or the situation, they will continue to battle. But it is not way to live and exist.
Colorado Players
Meagan Malcom-Peck, Fr., F
ON INJURY TO RIBS- "I don't really know what happened. I just dove on the ball and I think her knee went into my ribs. I just couldn't breathe for a second. I rolled my ankle as well but, I'll be alright."
Chucky Jeffery, Fr., G
ON POTENTIAL TO BE AS STRONG AS THIS NEBRASKA TEAM- "We have a good strong team, and for us to be starting two freshman already. In a couple of years I think we will be good because we still have Alyssa Fressle, and Brittany Spears will be back next year. We will have most of our players back and we can be the best team. We have the potential and we have the players so we can be that team."
ON GETTING FIRST CARRER DOUBLE-DOUBLE- "I wasn't even aware that I had a double-double. It would have made it even more sweet had we got the win."
Bianca Smith, Sr., G
ON INCONSISTENT PLAY OF THE TEAM- "I think we have to be tougher in those stretches. Sometimes we lose our focus and that's when teams push a six point lead to a 12 point lead. I think with this league, with veteran teams we cannot have those lapses. I think they are both defensively and offensively. Speaking on our execution, we fall behind, we start dribbling outside the perimeter instead of getting the ball inside, not running our offense. Then defensively we have lapses with match-ups and you can't have that in this league."
Nebraska Head Coach Connie Yori
ON KELSEY GRIFFIN- "She is one of a kind and we are very fortunate that she is here. She is such a great teammate and makes everyone better. You can see what she does individually but she just makes our team better on both ends. Her teammates have the greatest respect for her and she has developed. Every year she has gotten better since she has been here and it shows how hard she has been working."
ON SECOND HALF PERFORMANCE- "We needed to go inside in the second half. We didn't take advantage of the low blocking out in the first half and we got the ball inside early in the second half."
ON THE DIFFERENCE IN THE GAME- "I don't know if you can say that there is every one thing in a game that makes a difference. We got inside touches and we got shots close to the basket and didn't have to rely on all three's."
ON SHUTTING DOWN BRITTANY SPEARS- "We did a good job on her. You have to know her tendencies and Dominique [Kelley] did a good job defensively. We had a variety of people on Spears, but she was on her the most, plus Dominique scored on the other end. I think she played a great game and was a factor on both ends."
ON IMPROVING RECORD TO 19-0- "We truly have said one practice at a time, one game at a time, one possession at a time. The media likes to talk about it, and that's great because that helps to create interest in our program, but at the same time we just need to keep taking care of what we're doing and not look at it too much, in fact, not look at it at all. The thing we are going to do right now is get some rest, get some studying in, and get ready to practice on Monday."
Nebraska Players
Kelsey Griffin, Sr., F
ON DEFENSIVE FOCUS- "Our defense wasn't where it needed to be against Kansas State, and we definitely improved on a lot of things when we went to [Texas] Tech. That was our main focus against them, our defense. This wasn't our prettiest win but a win on the road in the Big 12 is really hard to come by so we'll take it and there are a lot of things that we need to work on improving."
ON COACH YORI'S TALK DURING KANSAS STATE GAME- "She never questions our effort, it's usually communication. We tend to struggle with calling out the right things early enough so our guards can adjust, calling switches. We're trying, it's a process, but it's not where it needs to be yet but we're trying to improve everything."
ON SMART DEFENSE IN FIRST HALF- "Credit the girls for working really hard because it's hard to play here with the elevation and being on the road in the Big 12. We knew we were going to have to come out here and be tough, and that's what you have to do to win on the road."
ON COLORADO'S RUN EARLY IN SECOND HALF- "I think our experience helps. Lindsey [Moore] is only a freshman but she definitely doesn't play like one. I think it's our basketball experience that really helps us. We have people like Yvonne Turner that can shoot the three, Dominique [Kelley] who can make baskets down the stretch, Cory [Montgomery] who can score inside and out. We have a ton of confidence in who we have on the floor. We try not to get rattled and just take a breath and play every possession."
ON COLORADO'S ATHLETICISM- "[Brittany] Spears is one of the best wing players in the league without a doubt. You look at what she does; she is smart, athletic. [Chucky] Jeffery is tough; she can drive, and she is a real tough person to guard. If you look at her she is averaging 18 points and nine rebounds and that is awesome for a guard. She is a quick point guard, and since it's the Big 12 that is fairly common, but that's definitely a focus. She is able to find people like [Bianca] Smith who is a great three-point shooter, I believe one of the best in the nation based on how many she has made. We know they are capable of scoring in bunches so it's just a matter of trying to outlast their pushes and their runs."
Dominique Kelley, Jr., G
ON GUARDING BRITTANY SPEARS- "She is a really good player. It's nothing we designed up, but I think our pressure collectively took a toll on them over the game. We didn't do a good job the whole game, we did a better job in the first half, defending the shots but the last five minutes we did a really good job limiting them to one shot."
ON WINNING ON THE ROAD IN BOULDER- "It's big, I've never won here. It's really hard to player here with the altitude, I was definitely feeling it today. But we sub a lot and that was a huge factor in the game too, we played more people than they did."
