Colorado University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Colorado-Denver Quotes
December 12, 2013 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Linda Lappe
General
“Overall, another good game for us, offensively especially. I thought the way we moved the ball and, the way we cut was very good. Denver did a couple of different things defensively and for us to be able to handle that and stay composed the entire time was excellent. Offensively, I was happy with the way things went as a whole. Defensively, I think we need to get a whole lot better. I'm not happy with giving up 61 points. You have to give Denver a lot of credit. They did some nice things offensively. They moved well, spaced us out, had some nice cuts, curls and pops and were really moving a lot in their offense. I thought our sense of urgency and our intensity defensively has to get better, and it's something that we have to work on. Overall, I loved how we shared the ball and played together. When we lost a little bit of our lead, we were able to regain it pretty quickly.”
On What is Missing from the Defense
“We need an overall sense of urgency and an understanding that it is really important that we get stops. We are scoring much more this year than in years past. Sometimes when you do that, you forget that defense and rebounding are really important. Those two things are what are going to win you games when your scoring might not be on like it has been for us. I feel like our mindset to play defense is not where it needs to be, but it will be. We will get it there. We have a week to get it there before a really good opponent in Louisville, so we will work on it and start to get tougher on the defensive side of things.”
On How the Coaching Staff will Improve the Defense
“We are going to demand [an improvement in defense] in practice. We want to be able to not only break things down and show them in a small setting, but also in a five-on-five setting as well. Our players need to have an understanding of what we mean by a sense of urgency, so we have to show them that in a smaller setting. Our returners know where it needs to get. Now it is just a matter of saying it is really important and demanding everybody on the team get to that spot. I'm going to really ask a lot of our returners and upper classmen because they know exactly where we need to get it.”
On What Sparked the First Half Scoring Run
“Defense [got things going]. It is amazing how that happened. We started playing defense and getting aggressive. We got our hands in passing lanes, not giving up angles on drives, stayed between them and the basket and communicated. We had a different level of defense in that period of time and what that led to was fast and easy baskets on our end. The amount of time it took to change that lead was maybe only a minute or two because we increased the tempo defensively, which led to increased tempo offensively.”
On The Overall Defense
“I thought it was sporadic. There were times where our defense was tough and really good. It kind of depended on who I had in the game at that time, but we need everybody that is in the game to be fully, one-hundred percent committed to defending like we can defend. At times, our defense was tough and really good, and at times, it was pretty lackadaisical and we gave up a lot of things.”
“Arielle was aggressive. She was aggressive from the very first play where she took it and scored it on the block. She was able to get around defenders and cause them to have to foul as a last resort. She was getting beat up pretty good in there and was able to get to the free throw more than she has in a long time because she was being so aggressive. She was making moves and not trying to go through the defender, but around them instead. She used a lot of different fakes. I think she was very good both defensively and offensively.”
On Defensive Goals
“[Our goals] depend on the opponent. It is like anything else, like taking a final for instance, which our players are all about to do. If you can get an A, get an A. You shouldn't underachieve and get a C if you can get an A. But if you can only get a C, then get the C, not a D. I think not underachieving with each team is very important. With Illinois, our goal was to keep them under 62 and we did that, and it was probably one of our best defensive efforts. We just have to be more consistent with it.”
Colorado Players
Arielle Roberson, So., F
On Ever Feeling Out Of Control During Play
“There were moments where we definitely let them have anything that they wanted like easy transition buckets, but I don't think that we ever lost confidence and thought that the game wasn't ours. We just knew that we had to settle in and buckle down.”
On Reasons Behind A Slow Start
“Our transition was not as good as it normally is. We didn't do our first four steps back. We were just jogging back, and in turn, they were just pushing it down our throats. It was very smart on their part to continue to push and it was very poor on our part to get back. So, I think it was kind of a mix.”
On Having Another Big Game Tonight
“It felt good. I mean, it's finals week and I'm just trying to relieve some stress in some type of way. This is the only way I really know how. I just went out there and played my game, and my teammates were great. They're always encouraging and we're all in the same boat. It's great energy.”
On Coach Lappe's Half-Time Message
“It was basically a lot of defending and buying in. That was probably the major thing, and we needed to get more action towards the rim. That helped create better things for our offense, but it was definitely a lot of defense. We're allowing more points than we did last year. I know we shouldn't talk about the past but that's also something to build off of. I think if we buy in now, that's definitely going to help us for the Louisville game and for the rest of conference.”
On Upcoming Louisville Being The Toughest Test So Far
“Yeah, definitely, we're going to go away and we're going to be off for a week. It will be physical and mental as well. We'll be coming off of finishing up finals and going to a ranked team. It should be a really good crowd, and they're a great team that can shoot the ball. They're a great weapon. I think we're very excited for that game because we can very well beat them, but we definitely have to get better at defending now as well as continuing to score.”
Jen Reese, Jr., F
On Wearing Her Facemask Again
“I can't catch a break on my face, apparently. It's for the rest of December. It's a hassle obviously, just like the goggles were, but I have to protect my face right now. I can see better without the goggles because there's nothing to create a glare, so it's better to see than the goggles were.”
On Successfully Controlling The Boards This Season
“I think just being in the right spot and playing the ball off the rim. I know Arielle [Roberson] and I do a good job of that, and so do Rachel [Hargis] and Jamee [Swan]. It's just being physical down there and boxing out. We've been working a lot on boxing out and getting our bodies into them before we go up and not just standing there. That's been a big factor.”