Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-Washington State Quotes
February 22, 2013 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Linda Lappe
General
“We were happy to get that win. It was a hard fought game, you have to give Washington State a lot of credit, they came in and fought and scrapped. It was a physical game and I liked how our players responded down the stretch. Midway through that second half I thought we really stepped up to the plate and knocked down some jumpers which were huge boosters for us and ended up being able to hold on in the end.”
On Why the Buffs Couldn't Pull Away Until the Very End
“There was no rhythm in that game at all. When you watch basketball, when you are coaching basketball, when you play basketball usually there is some rhythm within a game, and it was hard to get into a rhythm. Both teams never really did. And I told our team after the game that's not a game where you're ever going to be able to play your best. It's not surprising that we didn't play our best, however, we were resilient, we fought. We came together a lot better in the second half. The first half I thought we were, not on purpose, but we were all going a little bit different direction and we were able to re-focus at half time, and work together a little bit better. To beat that defense you have to all be on the same page and be together, cut together, move together. So I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half.”
On The Team's High Amount of Turnovers
“We had way too many turnovers that weren't caused. You can take some turnovers that, you know, you feel like Washington State does a great job defensively. And there were a few like that, definitely, but in the first half we had way too many to start out the game and I thought we did a little bit better job in the second half of taking care of the basketball, but yes (19) is too many and we've got to keep working to get that down.”
On The Buffs' Defense This Year
“We start working on our defensive system in August, even when we can't necessarily have a ball, we talk about stance and positioning and where we want to be; the intensity, the mentality of being a good defensive team. Our players take a lot of pride in being one of the best defensive teams in the conference. We really enjoy how hard they work to get stops, and we know how important that is. We know that's one of the reasons we've been so successful this year. Hopefully we just keep that going. Washington is really going to test us in terms of that, but to hold an opponent to 19% means that you're everywhere. You've got active hands, you've got active feet, you're not giving up a lot of easy shots, and you're being tough on the low blocks. To do that is awesome, and we've just got to keep it going.”
On Getting Better Against Ranked Opponents
“I think just believing that we belong in that category I think is first and foremost the thing. We believed that we were going to beat Louisville and you could see it in our demeanor and how we approached it. So just having that mentality every single game, understanding that, hey, we should win this game even though somebody might be ranked a little bit higher. To understand that we belong in that category, we're there for a reason. If we have the same mentality we had in the second half of the Arizona State game all the time that's when you have a really special team, and that's when you start to have some upsets and knock off teams that are supposedly better than you. But you have to really like our maturity and how we've handled opponents that we are supposed to beat. Good teams do that. If you just do that, a lot of times that's good enough, and obviously you want to try to get some great wins in there as well. But what I've found in the number of years that I've been coaching and playing and all that stuff is when juniors and seniors, when they start to understand that you come ready to play against everybody, not just the big dogs that's when you have a lot of wins, and that's when you go pretty far.”
On The Importance of Sunday's Against Washington
“It's important for a lot of reasons. Obviously we want to play well for our three seniors, and make sure that they go out on a good note, a positive note. But it is, it's an important game. We play Washington. Washington has a lot of respect from people in the league and from a national level. They've been getting votes. So being able to come in and play well against them is going to be really important. Obviously, there are standings in play at this point in time as well. But we can't worry about things we can't necessarily control, we've just got to come out and play well and play for our fans, play for our seniors. Just do the things that we've been doing all year long.”
On The Importance of Getting the Fourth Seed in the Pac 12
It would be very important. Having that first round bye is huge. Obviously it's something that we thought we could do at the beginning of the year. We didn't necessarily have a goal that we were going to be in the top four, but we did have a goal that we were going to keep getting better and improving, not let our first half of our conference schedule dictate how we were going to play in the second half of the conference schedule. We understood that, yes, we played Cal and Stanford twice in January. That was only going to help us, and we had to utilize that, and use that as a great learning experience, and to help us get better to be able to do what we needed to do in February and the beginning of March.
Colorado Players
Arielle Roberson, Fr., F
On Tonight's Sloppy Play
“It definitely wasn't our best. I think we came out and were expecting to do too much and we kind of got back on our heels and weren't able to find that balance.”
On Offensive Struggle
“I think it had to do with us not moving effectively, not moving to open spots, and not hitting people on the run. Being really stagnant was the majority of the problem.”
On First Double-Double
“It's exciting. I didn't think I had that many rebounds. I'm definitely not trying to compete with Andre [Roberson] in any way, I don't think I can. But, I think I was just more aggressive tonight than I have been in conference play. It's really comforting and I just have to transition that into the next day and the rest of conference play.”
On Why She Was More Aggressive Tonight
“I don't know. I think I was just extremely focused and tapped into a different mindset. I didn't just expect mediocre play from myself tonight. I upped my level of play and aggressiveness.”
On If She Is Confident In Continuing Her Aggressive Play
“I do feel like I can continue to play like this. I can be my worst enemy. A lot of the times I stop myself, with the help of other defenders. But, I think I just need to continue having this mindset and keep going with it.”
On If The Team Felt Threatened At All
“I can speak for myself, I'm not sure how everyone else felt. But, I think the majority of us felt like we could control the game. When the game was going downhill, it was our fault and when we were doing good things it was us as well. I think, with knowing that, we weren't threatened at all. At least, I wasn't.”
On If Sunday's Game Is Biggest Game Of Season
“I feel like at this point, every game is a big game, especially at this point in the season. Knowing that Washington is coming off a loss to Utah, they are going to try and bring it to us that much harder. I think we have to be prepared for that and I think we will be. It is really important for us to stay focused and come out strong and continue to play strong throughout the game.”
Jen Reese, So., F
On The Teams 19 Turnovers
“It's definitely a disappointing number to see, especially after Arizona (State) when we only had two turnovers in the second half. I just feel like we were frantic with the ball and forcing things that weren't there. Especially when the posts were cutting to the high post area, I think the guards thought it was open when it wasn't really. We definitely have to step it up for Sunday.”
On Coach Lappe's Mood At Halftime
“She wasn't happy, but neither were we. Coach Lappe definitely got on us in the halftime. But I think we came out after that and performed pretty well. We came out and did what we needed to do and I think she was happy with that.”
On Importance of Winning Sunday and Getting Into the Top Four
“It's very important. Hopefully we will be able to beat Washington on Sunday. That would be a great thing going into post season and for getting bids. We are going to take this win and celebrate tonight and then tomorrow in practice we are going to get ready for Washington.”
Washington State Head Coach June Daugherty
On Tonight's Performance- “Our team was aggressive on both sides of the ball. I thought we did a must better job here than we did at Oregon. We just simply can't have 25 turnovers however.”
On Playing a Ranked Opponent- “Credit to their defense. They have been pushing teams in that aspect all season. They kept everyone fresh against us. There are [four] teams in the Pac-12 ranked. We just have to compete hard and finish on the inside. Anything can happen in these games.”
