March 23, 2003

Quotes from Sunday's press conference at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colo. The Tar Heels will take on host Colorado in an NCAA second-round game Monday at 7:19 MT (9:19 ET).

North Carolina Head Coach Sylvia Hatchell

"We are excited about playing tomorrow. Colorado looked good last night. They shot the ball well, especially from three-land. We know they are an excellent inside team. It should be a great match-up. Of course, they are on their home court, but we've played in some tough places before, so we are just going to prepare and be ready to go."

ON PLAYING FOUR GUARDS: "(We will) if we feel like we need to for defensive or offensive reasons. We have several combinations, so if we need to, that's something we will do."

ON THE GAME PLAN: "They have a lot of strength. They're very fundamental with great execution and a good half-court team. We know that their inside game is very strong. We have to be concerned with the inside helping out with the big girl. We also have to worry about their outside shooters too. Hopefully, they won't have the hot hand again because they shot lights out last night. We like an up-tempo game and we will not change the way we play."

ON SUTTON VS. BJORKLUND: "(Sutton) has played against some good post players. I think that has prepared her for the challenge she will face tomorrow night."

C Candace Sutton

ON CU CENTER TERA BJORKLUND: "She's a great player. We watched film on her and it's going to be a great match up."

ON ALTITUDE: "A couple of days ago it was once down the court and we're winded. We're getting acclimated to the altitude now and we'll be ready definitely by tomorrow night."

ON COLORADO: "We know they are a good team. They have great shooters, but I think we have a good game plan and we'll be ready to play."

ON NIKITA BELL: "She's our spark, our defensive spark. She's our energy and we feed off of her energy. She played great considering how sick she was (last night)."

F/G Nikita Bell

"Honestly, I believe it doesn't matter where we play. As long as we work and play with the coaches' game plan we should be able to come out and win."

ON THE GAME AGAINST AUSTIN PEAY: "I think the main thing is that we could have played on the shooters a little bit more. We helped off and then we were able to readjust at the end.

"I think that we missed a lot of easy shots. Normally, that's one thing that we don't do. I think tomorrow night we'll come out a lot better than we did last night."