Colorado University Athletics
Kansas-Colorado Quotes
February 17, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller
OPENING STATEMENT - "It was a tough loss for us tonight particularly because I thought we played pretty well. I thought we had executed a game plan on the offensive and defensive end that for a majority of the game put us in the position to win. We had a solid output of scoring, a balance of scoring, and we out-rebounded them. We can take away some of those turnovers and could have been a different game. I know this is disappointing for our players because I think that they feel pretty well about the way they played, but Kansas played better tonight."
ON KANSAS FORWARD CAROLYN DAVIS - "I don't think she was a surprise to us. She was very effective at Kansas. What is great about he is that she knows her limitations. She is not taking shots that she cannot hit. She is not taking challenged shots and getting good shooting angles to score. There is no high or no low with her. She is very balanced in her performance and in her emotions and that is big for a freshman to have."
ON THE LACK OF BENCH SCORING - "I was hoping we would get something out of our bench. The last three games we had struggled to get off to a great start, and we went to our bench to get the scoring. But tonight we got off to a great start, and got no production off of our bench. I like the balance in the starting five though."
ON SECOND HALF ADJUSTMENTS - "I think that we got the whistle a more little more frequently in the second half which opened up our offense and allowed us to get more drives to the basket. I just thought we were aggressive and efficient. We took it strong and got it to the free throw line."
Colorado Players
Bianca Smith, Sr., G
ON STARTING ROLE- "It doesn't matter to me what role I am in. If I am coming off the bench or starting, I just want to do whatever gets my team the victory."
ON CHUCKY JEFFERY- "Chucky is a great player. She is a great freshman. I think she is one of the best in the conference. She had a great game tonight, driving to the basket and getting some great baskets for us, especially late in the game. She is playing great. She had nine rebounds and 19 points, you can't really ask her to do more than that in 36 minutes of play. I think she is a great asset for us and she is going to be a great player here."
ON SEVEN LOSES IN A ROW- "We have to stay positive and confident. I think that we still have plenty of opportunities not only to win but to make it to the post season. We have to stay focused and keep everyone's sprits up. I think the losing does get to us. We just have to stay positive."
Courtney Dunn, Sr., C
ON WHAT MAKES CAROLYN DAVIS HARD TO GUARD- "She is really physical. I couldn't get around her, and was giving her angles, which allowed her to score.
Kansas Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
ON CAROLYN DAVIS-"I think she is very, very humble. She is very proud of her team. She is exactly right, this didn't happen overnight for her, we have had a hundred and one practices and that is what we talked about in our team readings today. The chapter was that we look to the bench and the quality of the bench, and we are starting it here on the bench. They have prepared themselves to contribute, and they are some of the difference makers. Rhea Codio did a great job off the bench for us. Those minutes were significant. Especially on the road, I think it is more significant, its game four in nine days, I felt like we needed to go to the bench early. Everybody contributed."
ON OVERALL PLAY-"In all of this, we talk about the 'pig zone' and all of this with Coach Yow, if you watch any of the commercials where it is her face and her voice talking about it, there are two things she talks about. I never want her to wallow in self-pity because you will drown and if life kicks you, let it kick you forward. I think life has kicked us. It has kicked our kids who have gotten hurt, and we have allowed it to kick us forward. The strength that Angel (Goodrich) and Danielle (McCray) show us every day in their rehab and who they are has helped this team respond like they have. I couldn't be more proud, more proud of the answers that we made when Colorado made a run. We get ourselves down, we call the timeout, we answer-we turn them over. Monica who is struggling turns them over to get to the free throw line and then she starts to feel better about herself. Rhea (Codio) gives us great minutes. It took everybody tonight and we have a lot of kids who are prepared to come in and contribute and understand what their role is."
ON WIN-"I send them a text after the Texas game that said 'we all collectively have to believe what we are doing together will pay off and you will feel the results. Don't doubt, don't give in, push forward, confidence wins games and we can beat Colorado.' And every one of them responded, 'gotchya,' 'smiley face,' 'we're there.' Those were two tough games, we are in a position to win and we don't. This is a group that you hope just won't let it go, they came back to practice with good energy. It has been really great chemistry in practice in what was a really tough week for us."
Kansas Players
Carolyn Davis, Fr., F
ON 100-PERCENT SHOOTING-"I'll take [the box score] home and hang it up. I was just playing. It was a tough game, and my teammates were doing a good job finding me. I take a lot of easy shots so I don't miss any."
ON PLAYING AGAINST COLORADO DEFENSE "I thought it was going to be hard for my teammates to find me because of the zone and [Colorado] clogs up the middle so much but I think the offense we have is good for us because it allows us to separate the zone. We had Monica (Engelman) on the outside that they have to go to so eventually they have to open the lane up for me."
FREE THROW SHOOTING -"Honestly, when I shoot my free throws I just say 'this is for my teammates.' I wasn't nervous taking them. I have been prepared. We talked about it today in our team readings that we have been through hundreds of practices and I think we came prepared to play today."
