Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-California Quotes
January 13, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Linda Lappe
General
“We're disappointed; I thought we played a good 32 minutes of basketball. We just went on a drought in the second half and we stopped defending and you got to give credit to Cal. They did a nice job. I take some of the blame, Cal did a good job, [we haven't] seen a zone offense all season except for a few possessions here and there.”
On Giving Up the Lead
“We started turning the ball over. We were sprinting back in transition and they got a couple of easy baskets. That turned the momentum in their favor and that hurt us a lot, turning the ball over. The other part of it, they hit a couple tough shots, overhands. They had a couple kids hit some big threes. We stopped boxing out; they had 10 offensive rebounds in the second half. We were beating them on the boards and we stopped doing that and stopped going to the free throw line.”
On Breaking the Cal's Zone
“Yeah, I felt like we had some good shots against the zone. We're a three-point shooting team. You got to step up and knock down some shots. If we had done that the first couple times, we probably wouldn't have seen the zone again. When that did happen, they started running man on miss and zone on make. We couldn't push on transition either, that's how we got a lot of points. Once we hit a couple shots, we still have to find another way to score. When you can't hit shots, you got to find another way, got to get on the block, get offensive rebounds.”
On What Can Be Learned From the Loss
“Yeah, I always think there's something good that can come from a loss. We've learned from every single game, we learned from the Washington loss and bounced back. I felt like we backed down in the last eight minutes. We need to fight harder. When a team is down 10 to 12, you know they're going to fight. Knowing the time, the score, we had three turnovers in a row. You can't have three turnovers in a row, those are extra positions. They had a 6-0 run in about 30 seconds. Just like Chucky [Jeffery] said, we can't lose our focus. Against these teams we have a play a full 40 minutes. We played about 32 minutes, even though it was a good 32 minutes; it's not enough to last the entire game. Hopefully that's what we can take out of it.”
On the Short Preparation Time For This Game
“We better get used to it. That's how it is every single game here on out. It's tough to prepare, everybody's in the same boat. They (Cal) had one day to prepare for us as well. We have to fight. Stanford's the number one team in the country. It's going to take a full 40 minutes. There's no way we can even play 39 minutes and expect to compete against them. I think it's always tough but the good thing you can get rid of this one fast. After this game, we watch it and we move on.”
Colorado Players
Chucky Jeffery, Jr., G
On The First Half
“I felt like we were doing everything we needed to do. We kept them off the offensive glass and took care of the ball. That's what got away from us in the second half. We stopped boxing out and started getting a little sloppy with the ball and our passes. It's hard to stop a play in transition when it results from being tipped or something like that, and that's how they were getting a lot of their baskets. Those first 32 minutes though, I thought we were doing exactly what the game plan was.”
On The Nine Turnovers in the Second Half
“There was a lack of focus. We just lost it mentally. I don't know if it's because we got comfortable, but we just got away from what we were supposed to be doing: catching the ball, squaring up, meeting passes, knowing that there is going to be hands coming in on all rebounds, and being strong with the ball.”
Rachel Hargis, So., C
On What The Team Did Well
“In the first half, I thought we were working the ball through everyone really well. We kept getting reversals and working through our offense until we got the shot we wanted. We weren't forcing any shots or passes. I think in the second half that's what made the difference. We started trying to force things that weren't there.
On Her Play
“As far as me in the post goes, coach got on me yesterday in practice about being tougher and smarter at the post. Today I had it out for Cal. I just wanted to prove to coach that I can do what I know I'm capable of doing. I know that I will continue to get better and I will be able to help out my team from now on more.”
On What Stopped Her In The Second Half
“When they got into the zone it is hard to get to the low block well. I think the zone messed us up all together. We got a little flustered and we weren't really ready for it. We stopped doing the things that we know we can do.”
Jen Reese, Fr., F
On The Team's Rebounding
“I think we did a good job of boxing out in the beginning. I think we could of done a little bit better at boxing out, but as a whole, I thought we did a good job in the beginning of making sure they didn't get second chance shots.”
On Cal's Post Rebounding
“They are good. They are one of the best in the Pac-12 at offensive rebounding right now. That's what they do. We just have to stop them at what they are good at. I feel like we did that in stretches during the game.”
California Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb
General
“I told them that I am as proud of this win as of any that we have had all season. I really thought our players stepped up. We played like a team and our depth came through. [Layshia Clarendon] stepped up like a superstar; she is such an unassuming superstar. We ask her to distribute and play within the offense and tonight I said, 'Let's ride it,' and she was most excited about when she passed to Sherb (Lindsay Sherbert) and Sherb hit the three. I'm very proud of our defensive effort down the stretch and just our ability to suck it up and say, 'We can win from behind. We can win at altitude. We can win on the road.' I'm just very proud of our team tonight.”
On What Was Said To Get The Team To Play Better Defense In The Second Half
“At halftime, I'm not much of a screamer, but I got on them a little bit at halftime. I just felt that we weren't doing what we needed to do defensively. I thought we were getting taken by the posts and the guards and I thought we really stepped it up, especially in the latter part of the second half. We switched to a zone to mix it up – our players own that. We got on them to get stop after stop and honestly, that ignited our offense.”
On If The Team Talked At All Before The Game About Last Year's CU Game
“A little bit, the players maybe more so. More than anything, we said that we wanted to come in here and fight through the things that happen on the road – having the crowd against you and the altitude and all that. We talked about the fact that this year we have more depth and that we plan to run and transition. They might have talked about it a little bit more, but we were more focused on what we needed to do this year against this very good Colorado team.”
On G Lindsay Sherbert
“We love our depth. I think it is rare on a college basketball team where you can have a starter out and obviously Afure [Jemerigbe] gives us a lot, but we stepped in with someone else who is another starter. Sherb has been practicing great and I think we are at the point where every time she drives to the net, we expect it to go in. But really because of the versatility of our team, we have to pick our poison a little bit and I thought people stepped up tonight and did what they do well and that is what we need from them.”
