Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-Arizona Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Linda Lappe
General
GÇ£It feels great to get back on the winning track and I liked how we responded in the second half. We were up 11 and we really challenged our team to push the lead and I liked how we came in and were the aggressors, especially in the second half. Our offense started to really click and got everyone involved. It was nice to see us hit shots and get stops when we needed to get stops. Overall, great effort; I thought we finished well and thatGÇÖs something that we had been working on a lot.GÇ¥
On Building CU G/F Lauren HugginsGÇÖ Confidence
GÇ£What I told her was to, GÇÿkeep it simple,GÇÖ and I donGÇÖt know what her teammates told her, but I think, when you have a good shooter like Lauren [Huggins], thereGÇÖs a lot of things that can come in and out of your head. What I told Lauren was, GÇÿplay defense.GÇÖ When sheGÇÖs with it defensively, I think sheGÇÖs going to be more apt to make those shots because it means she is mentally engaged in the whole game. Tonight, we also told her to not put the ball on the floor and be ready to hit your shot.GÇ¥
On Ending 4-Game Losing Streak
GÇ£Well, you have to stay the path; stay the course. You can get frustrated and throw in the towel or you can get back to work and just do whatever it takes to win ball games. I always like the character of our team because it seems like we are very, very resilient. We do have to get better in certain areas, but a lot of it is just a mentality. We just talked about preparing, being able to encourage, come together as a team and just finish things.GÇ¥
On CU F Jen ReeseGÇÖs Versatility
GÇ£She [Jen Reese] is a really special player. When we recruited her, we thought she was kind of like Kevin Love. I like to think sheGÇÖs a little bit like Larry Bird; she probably doesnGÇÖt put it on the floor like Larry Bird used to but she just finds a way to get things done. She takes charges; she dives on the floor; she gets rebounds. She canGÇÖt jump as high as a lot of people or is as quick, but she finds gaps; sheGÇÖs such a smart basketball player and always knows where to move and gets her feet set.GÇ¥
On Playing Without G Lexy Kresl
GÇ£Anytime you have a player that plays significant minutes go down, it hurts your team. It means Brittany [Wilson] has to play a lot of minutes; it means Ashley [Wilson] has to play some point; it means we have to be a little bit more creative in what we do.GÇ¥
University of Colorado Student-Athletes
Jen Reese, Jr., F
On This Win Tonight After The Recent Losses
GÇ£It was very important to get that win so we were back on track, and overall, it came down to mental toughness and hustling plays, us focusing and getting back to our toughness as a team. I feel like we did that tonight.GÇ¥
On Lauren HugginsGÇÖ Performance Tonight
GÇ£It was great. I think I may lose my voice tomorrow from yelling for her, but IGÇÖm proud of Lauren. She did a good job pushing through hard times, and she had a phenomenal time tonight.GÇ¥
On Playing Without Jasmine Sborov and Lexy Kresl
GÇ£We have different people stepping up and freshmen are playing more minutes, which is great because we need that. Five of us playing 40 minutes is not going to happen, so I feel like people are stepping up and thatGÇÖs great.GÇ¥
On Their Defensive Play Tonight
GÇ£I think we were more physical with them and pressured more, and I felt that that helped a lot with our turnovers. Every time we pressured the ball, they turned it over or they couldnGÇÖt see, so we had a steal or something like that. So we just mixed up the defense so we could keep them on their toes, and I felt that that helped a lot as well.GÇ¥
On Her Shot Tonight
GÇ£I mean, it felt good. But great passes from teammates and finding the open gaps. ThatGÇÖs pretty much all you can do. Just passing the ball around and moving, not staying in one spot stagnant, and then just playing as a unit, weGÇÖre all on the same page. I know where Lauren [Huggins] is going to be, I know where Arielle [Roberson] is going to be, Brittany [Wilson] knows where IGÇÖm going to be. Just doing that works.GÇ¥
Lauren Huggins, Fr., G
On Her Performance Tonight
GÇ£I sat down with Coach Lappe and a couple of my teammates, and they were like, GÇÿlook, Lauren we have all the confidence in you in the worldGÇÖ and that meant a lot because I kind of hit a slump, but knowing that my teammates back me 100 percent and being able to go out there and knock down big shots when we needed it as well as continue to do and help the rest of my team out felt great. I was just trying to get everyone pumped up. [That conversation happened] earlier in the week. We sat down and kind of took a look at ourselves as a team and everyone had to play their roles and [I had to] get back to doing mine.GÇ¥
On Her Performance Tonight Compared to Other Games This Season
GÇ£There are games like Iowa as well as New Mexico where my teammates were finding me and I was able to knock down open shots, but as far as stepping into my shot, rhythm wise, I would compare it to Alcorn State, yes. Earlier, like I said, when I had a couple conversations with teammates, they said GÇÿshoot the ball kid, thatGÇÖs what you need to do.GÇÖ And just hearing that from my teammates gave me confidence in knowing that when they pass me the ball, they are expecting me to knock down open shots, just as Coach Lappe does, as do I, so being able to be beneficial and knock down open shots is good.GÇ¥
Arizona Head Coach Niya Butts
On ColoradoGÇÖs win and their multiple offensive runs
GÇ£CU shot 71 percent in the second half and 50 percent for the entire game. They got 41 percent of their three-pointers. WeGÇÖre talking about a team that in conference [play] came in shooting 21 percent from behind the arc and 36 percent or 37 percent from the field. We allowed them to shoot a much better percentage than they have all season long.GÇ¥
On ArizonaGÇÖs game
GÇ£We did rebound the ball better, coming up with 13 offensive rebounds. We out-rebounded them for a long time, but it just came to us turning the ball over too much. We gave the ball right back to them.GÇ¥
On ColoradoGÇÖs defense in the second half
GÇ£We just had to really settle down with the basketball. We turned it over one time in the trap. ThatGÇÖs what really affected us in the ball game. They only trapped on two possessions, so it wasnGÇÖt that. It was our inability to get any type of flow going offensively. We would rebound the basketball on second-chance opportunities, and then just turn it right back over. We didnGÇÖt do a very good job of taking care of the basketball, and we didnGÇÖt finish very well.GÇ¥