Colorado University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Colorado-Oregon Quotes
January 22, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Linda Lappe
General
"Well it just came down to a few possessions at key times where we needed to either score or get a stop. We just weren't able to really do it. I thought we did a nice job coming out at halftime and cut the lead. We were right there, but then let down our guard a little bit on the defensive end and gave up some wide open looks. Then we had a tough time scoring on our end. We have had a few games now where we had a really tough time scoring and it puts a lot of pressure on your defense."
On Struggling On The Offensive End
"I thought we played really well against Stanford offensively. So it has been about one in the last four games or so. I think our lineup got into foul trouble early and we came out of the gates scoring really well. Then Jamee got a foul and kind of broke our flow offensively and I thought she was doing a lot of good things on the offensive end. She and our team had a nice rhythm, but Jamee had two fouls in the first half. I think that was part of it but we have to be able to regroup. We have good enough players that can score the basketball. I feel like we are getting some good shots, but we just have to knock them down. We have to have our feet set; a lot of our shots are pretty open. Team members are doing a nice job of drawing the defense and kicking. We just have to have the confidence to step up and knock down those shots."
On Being More Consistent And How To Manage That
"I wish I knew. I think we would already have figured that out because I think everybody is working hard and everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to do the things that it takes to get us to where we want to go. It is just a matter of everybody putting it together at the right time. I thought our bench did a pretty good job in the first half. Zoe Beard-Fails came in and gave us a spark. I thought Makenzie came in and gave us a spark. It is just a collective effort and we need everybody to do their job and to do it with their best stats. If we do that, then good things happen. We don't have a large margin for error. We need everybody to be on their game and to be ready to go."
On Being Pleased With The Defense For The Most Part
"I have been [pleased with our defense]. I think there were a few break downs in succession and that seems to be the trend. It's not just one turnover; there are three or four turnovers in a row. It's not just one layup that we give up, but there are three in a row. I think that is what is hurting us more than anything. Obviously we are going to make mistakes, we are going to give up different things defensively, we are going to turn the ball over, but then having the right mindset not to do it in succession because that is where the tide really turns and momentum really turns. I thought defensively we gave up too many open layups from their guards at the top of the key off the on-ball screen in a row. Then we had to call a timeout and switch our defense. It is just a little bit of a lapse of focus and we had been playing most of the game pretty good. We gave up some layups, and sometimes that is all it takes to give a team their momentum and the ability to score. And that is what you saw today."
On Struggling On Defense After The First Quarter
"In the second quarter they started getting off too many open threes. It felt like we did a nice job in the paint on their post. We were helping in and trying to clog the paint, but we were late on the kick outs. They were able to get a few shots off of the on-ball screens, especially the high ones where we didn't have any help. That got them going a little bit. The third quarter was very similar. I thought we did a nice job of buckling down in the fourth."
On Facing Oregon State This Upcoming Sunday
"They are a very good team and they are obviously very balanced. They have nice players and they are well coached. They run their system very well and they are disciplined. I am hoping that it will invoke some of the same feelings that we had last year when we played them. I hope we have some of that same confidence and same swagger. Also some of the same feelings we had as we went into that game, as we were playing that game, and as we finished that game. I think we match up with them pretty well. I do think any team can beat any team in this league because it is a pretty balanced league. It is a really tough league this year. You know they are going to be ready and we know we are going to be ready. I am looking for a competitive game and a game where we are going to go out and give our best and they will give their best."
Colorado Players
Lauren Huggins, Jr., G/F
On Her 3-Point Shooting
"I had open looks; my teammates were getting my defensemen to draw in and would kick it [out to me]. I just felt a little rushed; my feet weren't set. My teammates never lost confidence in me. We ran plays to get me that three-ball look and I knocked a few down and hoped that would spurt us, but it was a little too late."
On The Offensive Struggles
"I don't think frustrating is the right word. Yes, we always like to see the ball go through the hoop as much as possible. But we have to stay confident in our ability to score and our ability to get our teammates open. We do a great job of that in practice. We are doing a much better job of setting good screens, working on our spacing, cutting hard to the ball. Rather than getting frustrated we have to keep more of a positive mindset and know that we are getting good looks and the ball is going to go in."
On Getting Stops Defensively And Leading To Transition Play
"We don't want to trade baskets. When we're not able to put the ball in, then we have to do an even better job on defense and prevent them from going on runs or hitting a few baskets. We have been working hard on defense, our intensity denying ball reversals, and denying the ball into the post. We need to ratchet up that defensive intensity. We talked about defense leading to offense. When we were able to get quick stops or rebounds, we were able to get quick looks and easy layups—so just continuing to carry that over."
Jamee Swan, Sr., F
On Getting Back Into A Rhythm
"Getting back into the flow after sitting out a weekend is hard; it's like sitting out a month. Everything is muscle memory, and once you come back you have to find it and you have to make sure that all of your gears get back together. For me, I feel like my gears are finally clicking and my teammates are getting me to where I need to be. Without them, my gears would not be clicking, or even close to clicking. I'm just trying to get back to smooth running."
On Getting Out-Rebounded In The Second Half
"We let our guard down on rebounding. We didn't crash as hard as we did in the first half. It made it harder for us to rebound because they came out ready to crash and ready to get the board; we just sat back. We let them throw the first punch and then realized it two punches too late."
Oregon Head Coach Kelly Graves
On The Game Plan Heading Into The Second Half
"We really tried to stick with the same game plan [in the second half]. We looked to be a little more aggressive off the ball screens and get it going in the middle of the field. But, by and large, we kept it the same."
On How The Team Prepared For Colorado's Strong Perimeter Shooting
"One of our keys to the game was to prepare for CU's perimeter shooting. We couldn't let them get going on the three. Unfortunately, late, [Lauren] Huggins hit a couple of threes but we had done a pretty good job there and made them make twos. I thought some of the stuff we did defensively, the full court to swell them up and take some time off the clock, helped us in the second half. They just didn't have as much time to run their stuff."
On Their Team's Second Pac-12 Win
"This win is big. Any time you win on the road it's a big deal. The fact is that we started the first five games against five teams ranked in the top 25. We had, by far the toughest schedule. We've had the chance to win a couple here so hopefully we can spring board that into more."