Colorado - Washington Quotes - University of Colorado Athletics

Colorado Head Coach Linda Lappe

General
"I'm really proud of our team. I thought we showed some great strides in the second half. The first half was kind of the old team, and I'd like to think the second half is the new team I've been seeing every day in practice. I thought we really grew up in the second half today. It's just too bad that one of these teams had to lose, and it's even worse that we had to be on the wrong end. I thought we had some kids step up and hit some big shots in the second half, and I thought we had some key stops on the defensive end. Our plays just made plays today, getting into passing lanes and making stops. They really did a lot of great things today. Now we need to be able to take this game and use it moving forward. We need to make sure that first half team doesn't come back again."

On The Slow Start
"We weren't playing hard enough and we weren't moving with a good enough sense of urgency, especially on the defensive end. We scored 28 points in the half which isn't terrible, the problem is we gave up 46. I was disappointed after that first half, and I just challenged our team to compete in the second half. I felt like we were putting all the pressure on ourselves, and the pressure wasn't on us. I thought we came out in the second half and just played basketball. We have great players and a great system that we need to trust. I'm disappointed with the outcome but it's a process and this was a huge step for us and one we need to take to move forward."

On Going Into The Second Half
"I just challenged them to play like we've been practicing. I've seen us have great practices lately, so I knew what we had in us. Three weeks ago I would have been nervous about the second half outcome, but I knew that our team now wasn't going to give up. I knew we were going to make a comeback, and I knew we would have a shot to win. I think our team knew that too and they played with a sense of urgency and aggressiveness in that second half. Our defense helped lead to our offense in the half. You have to give a lot of credit to Washington, they made one more play then we did. And ultimately that's what the game sometimes comes down to."

On The Last Play
"We wanted to get the ball into Jamee (Swan) and we trusted her to either make the shot or make the right read. She made a great read on that play. Our timing on the play was good, and Jamee did a nice job of kicking it out to Alexis (Robinson). Lex had her feet set and it was a great shot, just a little bit long. I thought Jamee had another good look off the offensive rebound as well. You know you hope that it doesn't come to that last play. I would really want to challenge Lex to not worry about that last shot, since she hit a three to tie the game which was a huge gutsy shot. She played great defense all game and she was really enjoying herself out there. I thought it was fitting for her to get the last shot and for Jamee to get the offensive rebound."

On The Defense Against Washington's Kelsey Plum
"She was ten points below her average which is great. I thought our players did a nice job of keeping her just a little bit uncomfortable. She's a fantastic player. It tells you how good she is when you're happy with holding her to 18 points, most players that's not the case. She did what it took at the end, getting to the free throw line and making her free throws. I thought that Lex and Lauren Huggins did a great job of defending her. And in the second half a lot of people got switched off on to her and them all did a great job of making her guess and keeping her uncomfortable."

On Focusing Too Much On Kelsey Plum
"I think that Chantel Osahor hurt us. We changed how we defended on-ball screens in the second half which I think played a part. We let her get too deep on the block, she's a strong kid so we need to use our quickness to get around her and not let her catch the passes so easily. They're averaging 80 points a game and we gave up about that many in this game. I thought we could have done a little bit better on Talia Walton. She got a couple of easy ones late, on defensive breakdowns. She's the one that I thought we could have done a better job of making her earn her shots."

Colorado Players

Alexis Robinson, Fr., G

On Final Offensive Possession
"It was a great shot and it was a great pass by Jamee Swan; if it comes down to it again, I shoot it again and hopefully it'd go in but everything happens for a reason so something better will come out of this hopefully...I'm not going to lie, I was feeling it."

On Third Quarter Defense
"Yeah we changed the read on the screens at halftime to figure out a way to stop them because they were getting a ton of threes in the first half. We just made that adjustment, coach Lappe made that adjustment at halftime and we stuck with it."

On Picking Up Second Half Tempo
"I don't know if they were getting tired, just we were going on runs and they weren't getting any scores. When you're the team that's not getting any scores its always tough to bounce back. That was us in the first half. It was a little bit of a mixed game, we each felt lows and highs but ultimately they got the last shot."

On Guarding Kelsey Plum
"I knew before that I'd have the opportunity to guard Kelsey Plum but coach didn't mention picking her up full court. I just figured it'd be easier to get her tired and to wear her out."

On Slow Start
"I was a little surprised. I think it just had a lot to do with nerves and first game in the conference. I just think a lot of nerves and we're so young. Second half we had already pushed the nerves aside and just came out and did what we could."

Kennedy Leonard, Fr., G

On Momentum Swing in Third Quarter
"Coach Lappe in the locker room at halftime just told us that we're done giving up and we're done giving up on teams when they're far ahead of us. We just came out with a fire under our butts and if we can play with Washington and lose on a last second shot, then we can play with anybody in the country and I think that just says enough in itself."

On Third Quarter Defense
"Coach Lappe talked about doing scramble plays a lot so we would get into scramble situations and bust our butts and hustle a lot more than we did in the first half just to get through and make sure they didn't get a good shot or even a shot at all."

On Focusing On Getting A Win Monday Night (vs. Washington State)
"I think that a win Monday is something that we need. We need to break even at 1-1. I just think that today we showed a lot. We were down a ton in the first half and we came back. I think that just solidifies the fact that we can play with anybody in the Pac 12 so that was a huge step for us even if we had a slow start in the first half. The way we came out in the second half showed a lot."