Quotes: Silver Stars vs Mercury: 7/28/11


Dan Hughes

Becky Hammon

Scholanda Robinson

Corey Gaines

Diana Taurasi

Candice Dupree

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Head Coach Dan Hughes

(Opening statement tonight’s game)
“I thought it was the type of game where I was really pleased on how we answered their runs back at us. We got control of the game early and you know they’re (Phoenix) going to come back. They’re a talented team and such a difficult team to guard, when you know they’re going to make runs at you. I was pleased how we responded in that situation. We had several players play well. Obviously, Becky (Hammon) was a catalyst to a lot of things. But I thought Scholanda Robinson, Jia Perkins, Danielle Robinson and all of those players really played well. With DA (Danielle Adams) out, we wondered where our scoring was going to come from. Here’s where it came from them. The rest of the team was really efficient. We were aggressive. Last time we played Phoenix, we felt like they were the more aggressive team. I felt today, this was a more aggressive San Antonio team.”

(On teamwork in tonight’s game)
“We had great ball movement. That was the key to the game. I thought we moved the ball really well today. What it did, it brought opportunity to different points within our line-up. The ball movement was excellent in the game,. We forced the tempo to where we could play out of defense. I thought that was really important. We had 29 assist to 37 field goals. Probably the reason we are sitting on the victory side, is because of the ball movement.”

(On forcing 20 turnovers and scoring 32 points, is it important to force that many turnovers?)
“Yes, because your possessions are amped up. They play at the most possessions in the league and we are right behind them. The ability to play out of our defense was really important, because they play offensively well either way, whether the ball is going in or out of the basket. We tend to be more efficient when we can play out of our defense. The ability to make them (Phoenix) turnover the basketball in some situations really helped us. As I told the team, I enjoyed coaching that basketball game because there was a lot of basketball played. I thought we probably had more good minutes and that’s why we got it done.”


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Becky Hammon

(on the game tonight and being short handed)
“We’re a team. We’re down one girl and everyone has to pick it up and do a little bit more. I thought we played really well as a team. We really shared the ball. Sophia (Young) did a good job at finding open people. We had 29 assists on 37 field goals, that’s really moving the ball and sharing the basketball. We shot better because of it. When you move the ball like that you’re going to shoot a better percentage, because you’re getting open looks. We did a lot of little things. I feel really good about this win, because I feel that we played good offensively. In the last few games it’s really been a grind for us. It feels good; it was a great team win.”

(on the play of Phoenix today)
“When you play Phoenix the lead doesn’t matter. You can’t get a head of this team and you can’t get behind. I tell this team all the time, whenever you play Phoenix if you’re down 20 you’re in the game, if you’re up 20 they’re still in the game. They are always going to come back at you. Then on the reverse they are always going to give you chances to come back, because they are who they are. They are a very good team, but I thought overall our defense did create some turnovers and that was really the key for us.”


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Scholanda Robinson

(when asked about coach coming up to her in the second quarter and giving her encouragement)
“It was him coaching. He amped me up a little bit to play defense the way I’m capable of. I let Diana (Taurasi) get a wide open shot and that should have not happened. I’m a better defender then that. He just let me know that.”

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Head Coach Corey Gaines

(How do you feel about the team’s performance today?)
“We just turned the ball over too much and we gave up 32 points on turnovers. The really hurt us.”

(What do you think the team can improve on going forward?)
“Those turnovers, that’s a lot of points to give up.”

(What did you think of Taurasi’s game today?)
“She was hitting shots, she was getting in the paint, and she even started guarding Becky (Hammon) so that really helps.”


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Diana Taurasi

(How do you feel about the team’s performance today?)
“We did some good things and we did some things that didn’t help us. San Antonio played really well, they executed, and they made a lot of plays throughout the game.”

(What do you think the team can improve on?)
“We can probably improve upon a little bit of everything. Taking care of the ball is something we really need to do better, starting with myself.”

(Has the All-Star break affected the team’s play?)
“You would think we would come back fresh from All-Star, but instead we’ve come back sluggish. We have to find a way to get back that energy.”


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Candice Dupree

(How do you feel about the team’s performance today?)
“It had some ups and downs. There were stretches when we played really well and as a team and then some times when we had entirely too many turnovers.”

(So going forward, do you feel turnovers are the most important thing to improve on?)
“Absolutely, we have to limit the turnovers. When we do that we’re able to get out and run, get back on defense, and they’re not able to get as many buckets in transition.”

(Has the All-Star break affected the team’s play?)
“I don’t think we can use that as an excuse, every team had some time off. We just have to find a way to get it done.”


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