Colorado University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Colorado-California Quotes
February 21, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Linda Lappe
General
"Yesterday we talked about whoever played with more energy was going to win the game. It was really that simple. It was the theme of the game; it was the message of the game—play with a lot of energy. We played with the most energy that we've played with. Everybody did their job; everybody executed their role. We obviously had some great individual performances, but I loved how our team played together. I love how hard they played. And now we just have to keep it going."
On Regrouping After Friday's Game
"We talked a lot about our purpose. I thought Friday's game was the first time we were playing without a purpose. We didn't know what we were playing for. If you don't know what you're playing for then you don't have any energy, you don't have that passion. We refocused on what our mission is and what we are trying to get accomplished. There is still time. That allowed us to refocus. When you have a mission and are playing for that—today we were playing for our fans, we were playing for Jamee Swan and we are playing to continue to reach our potential—just how powerful that is. You have to harness that and have to have that same mentality every time you take the floor."
On Kennedy Leonard's Double-Double
"She had great composure. She made great decisions. She's been up and down as the season has gone along. We know that she is a great player and we know what she can do. She played with a lot of confidence. She was so focused today. She was engaged. She was really connected with her teammates and finding them every time there was an opening. She didn't necessarily look to score she just took scoring opportunities when they were there. It shows by her 13 assists as well. All of the plays that she was a part of, there were a lot of them in the course of the game, I thought she also played outstanding defense. [Kristine} Anigwe is a fantastic player, one of [Leonard's] jobs was to keep the ball out of her hands. I thought she did a good job at that as well. Overall, it was a great floor game by a freshman point guard, who is really starting to grow up and mature. It was fun to watch."
On Jamee's Swans Play
"That is Jamee's second great game in a row. We talked about her being on a mission, here toward the end of the season, and stepping up and playing like a senior that still wants to accomplish things. She's playing with a lot of energy, a lot of heart and a lot of passion. She is also very focused. She is playing under control and with heart, which is a great combination for her. She's playing with a great amount of strength. We talked about her getting a double-double every game and how that it is always a tough feat, but it's possible for Jamee. We needed her on the glass, when she was out of the game we had a tough time getting rebounds. She did a nice job of rebounding, scoring, passing—she played an all-around great game."
On Defending Cal's Kristine Anigwe In The Second Half
"We changed our scheme a little bit. In the first quarter we didn't help off enough with other players on the floor. She was our number one, number two, and number three defensive key. We knew the ball was going to go in there a lot. She is a fantastic player. She may be the best low blocker player in the league, as a freshman. She is hard to keep out of there. We did wear her down. She has to play a lot of minutes for them with their short bench. Between Jamee going in there, Zoe Correal going in there and Bri Watts going in there (to guard her), and all of our guards helping out and getting deflections—we made her life really hard. She had to work to get her 30 (points). It was a huge part of the game."
Colorado Players
Kennedy Leonard, Fr., G
On Difference From Friday's Game
"It was yesterday's practice that we went over how we played against USC and what had changed from Wednesday to Thursday and why we played like that on Friday. Coming out of the gates, everybody wanted to get this win, not only just to get another win, but for [Jamee] Swan and all that she's done for this program. Being the point guard, you have to be the floor-leader, so I had to pick everybody up. Luckily I have a good team who always has my back. I know that they're there with me and throughout the game it showed that."
On Strong Start To The Game
"I felt good today. Before the game I felt good and was hitting shots. My teammates were giving me the ball and telling me to keep shooting. That meant a lot. It got my confidence back up. Everybody has bumps in the road. Finally, today there was a break-through and I think that's really good."
On Playing Aggressive
"I don't know if I was more aggressive; I just had more shots fall I think. I'm always pretty aggressive and find teammates. Today, my teammates were hitting shots when they needed to and I was hitting shots when they needed me."
On What The Win Means
"Obviously it's Swan's senior night, but at the same time we're trying to get wins. It was for this program and Swan's a part of this program and this program encompasses Swan. Today, we finally came out and played like we can. It can only go up from here; it's the perfect time to start a run."
On Finishing The Game With 13 Assists
"I was just hitting people. They were open and moving to the right spots. My teammates were moving and they were finishing. I owe that all to them. My assists aren't on me; they're on them. I'm thankful for that."
On Preparing For Road Trip
"We need to use this as momentum. We know what we're capable of. When we won the game against USC, we came out and lost those two games to Utah. This is a going to be a huge tell of what kind of team we are, especially going into the Pac-12 Tournament."
Jamee Swan, Sr., F
On Contributions From Teammates
"It means a lot. They showed how much they cared for the game, the university, the team and I. They cared so much about today and it's great to see that great basketball is fun to watch."
On Emotions Of The Game
"I saw my brother. My brother is in the Air Force and I haven't seen him in about three months, so being able to see him: my heart was pounding, my eyes were watering. After that, I got into the huddle, and Kennedy [Leonard] and Lauren Huggins were like, 'Quit your crying; we have to go out and win a game.' It made me laugh. That brought me
On Defending Of Cal's Kristine Anigwe
"We played on the same club team in Arizona, so we're actually friends. It was hard. When I played against her in high school, she was this goofy person. It's great to see her grow up and it's great to see her be such a great player. I think we were just shocked that she was scoring on us so easily. I remember at one point I looked up and I was like, 'Oh my god she already has 10 points.' I'm glad it turned around for us in the second quarter."
On Finishing Home Career With A Win And Double-Double
"It feels amazing. It's hard to put into words. It's nice to get a win, but on senior night it's even better."
On Preparing For Road Trip
"Coach always tells us you play how you practice. This week we had up-and-down practices, but yesterday was direct to the point; we're going to get what needed to get done. It showed. We've got to figure out how to keep practices as intense and on focus as we have been."
California Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb
On Kristine Anigwe's Game
"She came out and set a tone. They were pressuring us and we talked about if they were going to pressure we wanted to go inside. I thought she did a really good job of that. Obviously she's a young talent. She's still learning along with the rest of our team. She had a tough match-up with Swan, but I thought she obviously did some really good things and credit to Colorado, they played really well."
On Preparing To Play Colorado
"We had a really good film session yesterday morning, then we got on the plane and came here and thought we had a good practice yesterday and good walk through this morning. The second quarter just absolutely killed us and I credit Colorado. They were ready on senior night. They've played hard all year and obviously they've had some struggles, but they were ready tonight. We knew they were streaky and we let them get hot. Once you get hot then your confidence grows and so I credit them.
On What Cal Will Work On
"Just being the best version of us. I think you have to have an identity at the end of the year. If we're going to go down, it's going to be because someone beat us, not because we gave anyone anything easy. We have to focus on what we do well and getting our kids locked in to do that at the highest level we can and hopefully get hot at the end of February and March."
On What She Said To Her Team
"We have a choice now of how we're defined from here on out. It's painful to lose, but there can be meaning in it and we get to determine what that meaning is. I expect us to channel it into being a team that gets really hungry down the stretch here."