Colorado University Athletics
Colorado - Presbyterian Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Linda Lappe
General
GÇ£It's always good to get a win and weGÇÖre excited about that. I thought we struggled on the defensive end in the first half, but we picked it up defensively in the second half. Probably one of our best games weGÇÖve had with converting turnovers into scores. I thought our press won us the game tonight. Our press created some easy baskets for us and helped create stops. It also helped increase our defensive energy in the half court. IGÇÖm excited for the win and what a great opportunity we have now to prep one day and then go play at Wyoming.GÇ¥
On Putting in the Press
GÇ£We installed the press about two months ago. But we havenGÇÖt practiced or used it a ton. We had it to use in case of an emergency. We had time this week to work on it. With a young team like we have, we try not to overload them with too much. Our half court man defense wasnGÇÖt where it needed to be, but as that gets better weGÇÖre starting to understand how we can get better in the half court. We had some time this week, with no games or finals, to be able to spend time teaching it. It looked really good. But we did work on it a lot, and I think that we have good personal to do it. I really like how they executed it.GÇ¥
On Press Being the Second Half Difference
GÇ£It was a huge difference for us. It really changed the momentum.GÇ¥
On Going to the Press to Win the Game
GÇ£I wanted to get stops in the half court, but we were fouling too much in the first half. And Presbyterian was dictating the play on defense. So IGÇÖm a little bit disappointed about that, but at the same time itGÇÖs why we have the press so we can change things up. As a coach itGÇÖs my job to get them in the mindset they had when we pressed. We were moving together and played aggressively, which carried over into the half court. ThereGÇÖs a mindset that we need to sure up.GÇ¥
On Defense Leading to Offense
GÇ£Great defense leads to offense, and thatGÇÖs exactly what happened today.GÇ¥
On Going Into MondayGÇÖs Game at Wyoming
GÇ£It was important to win going into MondayGÇÖs game. Presbyterian is a nice team, and I saw on film that they do a lot of nice things. It was good for us to play against a match-up zone. We did have a few too many turnovers, but weGÇÖve gotten better in that regard when it comes to the defense dictating the speed of our offense. We wanted to make sure that we played well, I wouldnGÇÖt say we played particularly well, but it was good for us to have what I thought was a great second half.GÇ¥
On Slow Start
GÇ£The first few minutes were about how we were defending the on-ball screens, we werenGÇÖt recovering fast enough and they did a good job of finding their bigs for wide open shots. We called a timeout and worked on changing that. But after that it just came to defending penetration and one-on-one, which is something you have to be able to do.GÇ¥
On Playing at Wyoming on Monday
GÇ£Whenever you play at Wyoming it builds character. You have to be tough and figure out ways to win ugly. You just have to want it, getting the loose basketballs and find ways to get the extra possessions and stops in the game. It doesnGÇÖt matter if it's home or away playing them always builds a lot of character and helps us with the toughness of our team.GÇ¥
Colorado Players
Lauren Huggins, Jr. G
On Going into the Full Court Press
GÇ£We worked a lot this week on our press, which is something new for us. We executed it well in practice (and the fans) got to see that out there on the court. We will continue to work on that and use it as we go into Pac-12 play.GÇ¥
On the Press being the Game Changer
GÇ£We just talked about it in the locker roomGÇöthe press is what ultimately won us this game. It allowed us to get a more defensive intensity; we got our hands on more loose balls. When we got into the half-court defense we saw our intensity pick up. We were moving together, like we were in the pressGÇögetting our hands on balls and then turning the ball over and executing. We got 24 points off of their turnovers and thatGÇÖs the best we have done thus far. It was a game changer for sure.GÇ¥
On Struggling in the First Quarter to Dominating in the Third Quarter
GÇ£The mindset changed. They play a match-up zone and thatGÇÖs something we are not used to seeing. We were flashing the wrong gaps; not making the right reads. At halftime we were able to adjust, and come out in the third quarter and pick their defense apart, get the ball into our posts finally, and then when we got the ball inside we were able to get kick-outGÇÖs and knock down outside shots.GÇ¥
On Playing Wyoming in Wyoming
GÇ£It is going to be a tough game; they always bring out a great crowd. You always want to win the Front Range; you want to be the best, and we include Wyoming with that. The arena they play in, they pack it, and itGÇÖs a tough environment to play. We should use it as a motivator going into it as our last game of pre-season. Knowing that a lot of girls are locals and wanted to be in the position that we are, we need to come tomorrow ready to work, be ready to go up there in a hostile environment. And we have to get a win.GÇ¥
On How Important it is to get a win sitting at .500
GÇ£ItGÇÖs going to be imperative that we get a win. We need to get that mindset now. We have to go up there and attack. Of course you want to be above .500 going into Pac-12 play, but just having that one last win (will provide) a little more momentum, and that will carry us over to Christmas Break where we just have practices. It will motivate us to work harder. We talked about how we have to prepare each other a little better during practices; we need to be more competitive. Playing in an environment like (WyomingGÇÖs) for the very last game should inspire that competitiveness within us, and be able to give us that last push before we go into Pac-12.GÇ¥
Jamee Swan, Sr. F
On How the Defense Changed
GÇ£Coach Lappe, defense, thatGÇÖs all we preach. That is everything Colorado basketball is about. ThatGÇÖs our foundation. When we arenGÇÖt doing well on offense we realize our defense isnGÇÖt as great as it should be. Colorado basketball equals defense.GÇ¥
On the Initial Struggle on Defence
GÇ£There was a little lull where we werenGÇÖt playing our defense; we had to pick it up.GÇ¥
On Struggling in the First Quarter to Dominating in the Third Quarter
GÇ£We were all more connected. We talk a lot in practice about being connected and telling someone that theyGÇÖve got it next time; being positive with each other. As that increased, our chatter got louder, and we got better as a team.GÇ¥
On Overlooking a Not Well Known Opponent
GÇ£WeGÇÖve gotten into the mindset: everyday come in and work hard. Put your hard hat on and get it done. I donGÇÖt think that really affected us this game. We just put our workbooks on and got to work.GÇ¥
On What Attributed to the Slow Start
GÇ£We had so much energy that we were all over the place. We just needed to focus in. And once we focused in we had good energy, rather than random energy.GÇ¥
On Making it to the 1,000 point mark
GÇ£ItGÇÖs the biggest milestone I have ever done in my life. I have been so blessed to have teammates who can get me the ball. I have been so blessed to have point guards that run the floor very well. Without the people I have played with my freshman year, my sophomore year, or even my junior year, I wouldnGÇÖt have been able to make it this far.GÇ¥
On Playing Wyoming
GÇ£Their crowd is a big factor for them. If their crowd is loud, they are going to be loud and energized. We have to figure out how to shut that down and bring our own energy. On the road we have to GÇ£road warriors.GÇ¥ We have to do everything to the point with no mess-ups. It will be a lot of fun, but it will also be really challenging.GÇ¥
On How Important it is to get a win sitting at .500
GÇ£ItGÇÖs always nice to go into Christmas with a win.GÇ¥
Presbyterian Head Coach Ronny Fisher
General
"IGÇÖm really proud that we were able to take the lead heading into the third quarter because Colorado has a really, really good team. Coach Lappe does a tremendous job with them and theyGÇÖre one of the best shooting teams in the country and theyGÇÖve got one of the best post players in the country, trying to stop their outside game and their inside game is very difficult. I hate that we lost, but IGÇÖm really proud of our effort to give us a chance to be in the game."
Game Strategies Going Into the Game
"We wanted to try to limit their post play because they are very good inside. At the same time we wanted to get to their shooters and make them shoot contested jump shots. They also play good man-to-man defense. We wanted to really execute and screen and make them guard some difficult stuff and I thought we did a pretty good job of that. We just had a really tough time stopping them because theyGÇÖve got a really good offensive team."
On the Fourth Quarter
"When they came out and pressed us I think we got a little tired, we had a player foul out and we had another player with four fouls that plays a lot of minutes for us. We got a little tired and they pressed us and their size hurt us in the press. They created a few turnovers that led to layups and that was tough on us."
On Foul Trouble
"Aianna Kelly whoGÇÖs a leader for us, a really good player she fouled out. I was really proud of Yakima Clifton who came in for her who is a freshman. She did a really nice job and really helped us off the bench. At the same time she is a freshman and she doesnGÇÖt know the defense very well and they got some easy shots because of it."
If Travel Played a Factor
"I donGÇÖt think so, maybe, but I donGÇÖt think that was an issueGÇôwe were right there. They made some plays and we didnGÇÖt. I think that foul trouble probably impacted us more because when we got in foul trouble we had to play players more minutes than there used to and that did get us a little bit."