Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-Utah Valley Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Linda Lappe
General
GÇ£ItGÇÖs exciting to know where we are at this point in the season.
ItGÇÖs nice to be able to go into a little bit of a break without a
loss. I think we played pretty well tonight; we did some nice
things in spurts both offensively and defensively. We played
together very well and hit the open players on the offensive side.
We had a lot of players score and I liked our energy on the
defensive side of things. Our rebounding in first half wasnGÇÖt as
good as it could have been, but I think in the second half we
dominated both the offensive and defensive boards.GÇ¥
On Slow Start
GÇ£I think more than anything they were just trying to get a feel for
the game. It took us a little while to get into a rhythm and a
groove of knowing where the open players are. Other than putting
the [Wolverines] at the free throw line a few too many times, I
thought our defense was really solid and is what kept us in the
game at that point. One of our goals was to hold them to 45
points and we did that. So, IGÇÖm pretty happy with the defensive
side of things. It just took a little bit of time for our offense
to catch fire and we did that through our transitions and getting
some easy baskets.GÇ¥
On Jen Reese Tonight
GÇ£Jen knows the game and has a nose for the ball. She did a nice job
at finding the open gaps against their defense. Her teammates did a
nice job of finding her when she was in a position to score. We
want Jen to have the ball a lot. Quite frankly, I think she should
have taken a few more shots in the second half. But, she came off
the bench, was good defensively, and provided a scoring punch on
the offensive side.GÇ¥
On If She Was Nervous The Team May Overlook
Today
GÇ£There have been a lot of upsets in the last week or so. I think
you look at finals and getting ready for the upcoming break and
both of those things contribute to those upsets. We wanted to make
sure that wasnGÇÖt us. We wanted to make sure we were ready. Yes,
there is always the tendency to let down a little bit, especially
coming off of a big win. ThereGÇÖs a lot of things could have worked
against us tonight. IGÇÖm glad that our veterans came in ready to
play and our two freshmen came in and provided some key minutes.
When you have a game and there are so many things against you,
thatGÇÖs when you rely on your leadership and your juniors and
seniors to carry the load.GÇ¥
On How Team Will Stay Focused Over Break
GÇ£Part if it is resting. We play hard and want to make sure our
effort is always there, but we also have to rest hard. We have to
be just as good at relaxing as we are when we come back to
practice. I think thatGÇÖs an important aspect. We need to rest minds
and bodies. That doesnGÇÖt mean we arenGÇÖt using them, but it means we
have to come back with some rejuvenation. WeGÇÖve just got to make
sure that we are smart in our break. Obviously we will give them a
workout to do over break so theyGÇÖre ready to go on the 26th.GÇ¥
On ArielleGÇÖs Double Digit Games
GÇ£I look at Arielle and I never think she is a freshman. ThatGÇÖs a
good thing. SheGÇÖs going to have a 5th year in my eyes. Because she
was able to sit out last season and watch; that really helped her
consistency. To do what she has been able to do shows a lot of
consistency. She plays the same way every single day in practice.
We know what we are going to see in games and thatGÇÖs huge for a
freshman because as a freshman the consistency is probably the
toughest thing to figure out. SheGÇÖs figured it out and itGÇÖs been
fun to see and we are happy for her.GÇ¥
Colorado Players
Jen Reese, So., F
On Opening Jitters
GÇ£I feel like going into the game we were ready to go. I feel
like we were a little frantic in the beginning. We just had to
settle down a little bit, and I feel like we did that after a
while. We just got better from there once we calmed
down. It was an up and down game.GÇ¥
On Utah ValleyGÇÖs Defense
GÇ£We knew they were going to switch coming into the game. It
was more of just us hurting ourselves a little bit.GÇ¥
On Beginning Half Offense Not Using The
Post
GÇ£We were looking there. I feel like we didnGÇÖt know where the
spots were open. Going into it, Coach was saying the middle
was open a lot and after telling us that and us seeing it on the
bench, I feel like we got it into the post, and at the top and
outside. Our guards did a good job of knocking down some
threeGÇÖs.GÇ¥
On Career High In Points
GÇ£All the credit goes to my teammates and everybody finding me in
the open gaps and IGÇÖm finding the open gaps and just knocking down
shots when I see them and if not, than I am dishing it out.
It is great. We did a great job tonight.GÇ¥
Chucky Jeffery, Sr., G
On Getting Momentum
GÇ£We got it like midway through the first half. Like she
(Reese) said, they were switching and we kind of worked on that
stuff and then they went to zone and were throwing different things
at us so we just had to find the open spots. Sometimes we
were running to where the defender was instead of finding the open
spots. Once we got that underway and got a couple steals and
ran out in transition a little bit than we got into our rhythm and
started getting it together a little bit.GÇ¥
On Outside Distractions
GÇ£Everybody is trying not to think about break and I think by
thinking about that, we are still thinking about it and it is kind
of distracting us. We have little distractions here and there
and we were able to pull through, so that was a good thing.GÇ¥
On Confidence of Freshmen
GÇ£I think that is good that we are playing ten players because when
we are playing those top teams, sometimes we have to stay in and we
donGÇÖt want to be playing 40 minutes and 38 and 37 minutes every
game. That is going to ware on us and we arenGÇÖt going to have
enough gas in the tank for us to play those teams. When Jamee
(Swan), Ky (Weston), and LA (Atchley) get in to the game and gets
breaks and Lauren (Huggins) gets back for us, it gets them
experience on the floor. It is going to help because
then when they come in, they are going to know what to do and
contribute.GÇ¥
On Her Play
GÇ£I just kind of got into a little flow. I like to get my
teammates more so into the game before I do. It makes me
comfortable to know that I can give my teammates confidence.
I love dishing the ball out more so than anything coming down
passing the ball. I was just playing basketball and coach
wanted us to rebound so I did what I was asked to do.
Jamee Swan, Fr., F
On Playing Time
GÇ£I think it is beneficial for us to see more of what it is going to
be like to play. It gives us an opportunity to be in the game
and learn and play.GÇ¥
On Gaining Confidence
GÇ£It gives me confidence and I think it gives our team confidence
that they can trust in us as freshmen to do what we need to do when
we are asked to do it.GÇ¥
Utah Valley Head Coach Cathy Nixon
General
GÇ£Like every pre-season game or non-conference game weGÇÖve had, we
hope to just learn from it. I think there are some really good
things we can take from this game. One thing I absolutely know
(about this team) is that theyGÇÖre going to work hard. This group of
kids are just really hard working girls and I knew that they would
battle. I felt like the first ten minutes we were really pretty
good defensively and offensively. I felt like the breakdowns we had
that resulted in (Colorado) stretching it out was that we turned
the ball over, which resulted in transition points, and then they
got offensive rebounds. Obviously Colorado is a very talented team
and they are playing really hot right now. I think it is a great
opportunity for our girls to come and see a team of their caliber
and understand that there are things we can do to compete, but
there are also some things we can do to get better to be at their
level.GÇ¥
On Shooting in the Second Half
GÇ£I think the difference in the two halves offensively was that we
just started to play more together as a team. Against a team like
Colorado, who is good defensively, you have to get down and make
them have to make some shifts. I thought with our ball reversals we
had better screen action in the second half, we were able to get to
the rim more, and open up for some open perimeter shots. But if you
let (Colorado) defend just one side of the floor and not have to
make too many shifts defensively, then their length can kind of get
to us. I felt our kids hung in there and they battled and I thought
we showed some bright spots. Most importantly is just for us to
continue to get better and to work our way towards a conference
championship here after Christmas.GÇ¥
On the Way the Bench Played
GÇ£We are a team that has to rely on our depth. We arenGÇÖt really a
team of superstars. Sammie Jensen has a double-double for us almost
every night, but we need kids coming off the bench. I thought Tina
Doughty had an exceptional game off of the bench. I thought she was
good defensively for us which is an area weGÇÖve worked on with her.
She showed good poise and just went at a good tempo and pace
offensively. I thought Ashley Klemz came in and played some good
minutes as well. But that is what we need to do is have good
balance on both ends of the floor.GÇ¥