Colorado University Athletics
Colorado, Missouri Quotes
January 09, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller
General
"It is great to open up at home and open up with a win. In the first half I thought that we were really good both offensively and defensively. We were very effective at guarding their inside play and taking away their strengths. However, in the second half, I thought Missouri really came out strong and got us in foul trouble. I am proud of the rebounding, and the turnovers, and the steals especially late in the game. We played man-to-man most of the game, and the only time we went zone was late in the game with Chucky Jeffery and Brittany Spears up top which made us very long, and that created a lot of steals and scoring through our defense. Overall, good performance, and I am happy sitting here 1-0 in the Big 12."
On the Transition Offense
"Our objective when we have numbers is to score. Some teams are better at taking it away, and in the past we have not made the best decisions. But we have (had) all week a focus on transition offense and trying to score through our defense. Even though we missed a ton of layups today, I think we are getting more comfortable with our transition offense."
On If They Played A Complete Game
"All except five minutes. It is complete that it is done and in the books and we won it, but as far as for forty minutes, there was a stretch that we were not playing Colorado basketball. We were not taking the shots within our offense and we were a little sluggish. But the good news is that we responded to their run."
Missouri Head Coach Cindy Stein
General
"I think there is a big difference between playing well and wanting to play well. We made a good effort to make it close in the second half and did a lot of things well to cut their lead, but we had too many turnovers. Today wasn't a do or die game, but we have to look at the film and get better."
On Team Struggles
"We've got to do a better job at the free throw line. We didn't shoot the ball well today, but that tends to happen on the road. Give Colorado kudos, they played well and deserved to win the game. (Colorado Guard Chucky) Jeffery had a couple big steals at the end that really changed the game."
On Missouri F Shakara Jones
"I thought (Missouri Forward Shakara Jones) Shak played well in the second half but not so well in the first half. She's been really cold lately but she's getting good looks. We have to do a better job of scoring inside."
On Colorado F Brittany Spears
"We knew Spears would try to drive and take it inside, we lost our focus a little at times but I think that was partially because we got over anxious to get a defensive stop. The kids worked really hard and we just have to do better on both the offensive and defensive ends and just continue to get better."
Colorado Players
Chucky Jeffery, Fr., G/F
On the 17-4 Run to Finish the Game - "We knew that was not acceptable, and when Coach Miller called that timeout, she told us to relax and calm down. When we came out of the timeout, we had more energy with our defense and that is what really got us back into it. We went to the zone and got steals, and that gave us our energy."
Brittany Spears, Jr., F
On Starting the Big 12 Season- "It is always good to start the Big 12 season with a victory."
On the 17-4 to Finish the Game- "Our defense really got us the momentum back. We went into the zone and got some steals."
Courtney Dunn, Sr., C
On Being a Post Presence - "I have been taking a beating from the post players for a couple years, so I can pretty much handle what they give me. The only thing that I need to work on is staying out of foul trouble, and how to guard the post play."
