Postgame Quotes/Notes - Storm 65, Minnesota 55

June 24, 2011

STORM HEAD COACH BRIAN AGLER:


On his 200th win:
That will be nice 20 years from now. I'm more interested in how we played tonight. I thought we played really well and I'm proud of our team.

On the Storm's defense:
I think we can be a great defensive team. I was just happy that they understand that when you shoot the ball poorly - and we didn't shoot the ball very well tonight; we had some key people not hit shots - that the defense can give you a chance to stay in games and win games for you. I think they have a lot of confidence in the defensive end. We do have to get better offensively. Maybe at some point we'll start making some shots.

On Tanisha Wright's fourth-quarter scoring:
Huge. Tanisha really played well out of the pick-and-roll in the middle of the floor and made some big plays. She hit some jumpers. The first one was going to the rim with a layup. It's nice to have a secondary ballhandler who can play in pick-and-roll besides Sue (Bird). That was a big part of the game. I think we started the fourth quarter up two and we extended it to 13 or 14.

STORM GUARD SUE BIRD:


On playing without Lauren Jackson:
There is no making up for Lauren's absence. No one can be Lauren. They can just play the way they know how, and I think they did that. Of course you're going to miss a player of Lauren's caliber, but what Camille (Little) and Le'coe (Willingham) bring is different. They were able to play to their strengths and show what they can do.

On the team coming together:
We had a little bit of an identity crisis. Now we're getting back to what we need to do to win games. We need to play hard defensively, let that dictate what our offense is going to bring and go from there. I think tonight was a great example of that. I know it was a low-scoring game, not the most exciting for the fans, but a win is a win.

On relying more on defense:
At the beginning of the season, shots weren't really falling. We had some games where we were shooting 30 percent at times. When that happens, you need to fall back on your defense even more. I think that's what you're seeing. We have a lot of people in her who can put up points and score. I think we're just getting through the kinks in our offense, but it's nice to have that defense to anchor us. It's always going to give us a shot in games, no matter what our shooting percentage is.

STORM FORWARD CAMILLE LITTLE:


On the Storm's defense:
I was just glad to see our defense finally - and consistently. The last couple of games, we were playing good defense for a while and then teams would be score. Tonight, even the small spurts where we weren't scoring or weren't getting stops, it didn't last very long. Against a team like this, it can't. Seimone (Augustus) scored, a couple of times, back-to-back-to-back. Overall, I think we played a really good game defensively.

On containing Rebekkah Brunson:
I just think our team made a better effort of boxing the entire team out. They are a great rebounding team, and she is the main reason for that. A lot of times, it wasn't just the post players boxing her out - it was one of us and a guard or two guards. That's something we tried to really focus on and make sure she didn't get too many o boards. I think we did a pretty good job tonight.

On answering Minnesota's runs:
Today was just one of our better games. We had a great practice yesterday and I think we carried it over to today. We didn't get rattled, we continued to play, we knew what was working and went back to it.

MINNESOTA HEAD COACH CHERYL REEVE:
On the start:
I think they (the Storm) had a different attitude coming out tonight than they did the last time.

On the difference in the game:
Thirty percent from the field.

On the focus for the next game:
Shooting better than 30 percent.

MINNESOTA GUARD SEIMONE AUGUSTUS:
On the start of the game:
We lacked a lot of energy. I think they jumped out early. It is the tale of two games � the last game, we jumped out early and got the lead, and the roles were switched. They jumped out early, had the fans behind them, and they played with a lot of energy and we never did quite get going.

On allowing a fourth-quarter run:
Lack of focus. I think they picked up the defensive intensity and we kind of struggled with that a little bit. We started to miss shots � I think we shot 25 percent tonight, a very low percentage. And hats off to their defense because they really picked it up.

On the focus for the next game:
Definitely coming out stronger. Playing with a lot of energy , a lot of intensity. On the defensive end, trying to take people away from what they want to do. I think Seattle scored a lot of points in the paint tonight, and that caused a lot of problems for us. Definitely taking care of the paint.

MINNESOTA GUARD MAYA MOORE:
On the game:
Our defensive focus wasn�t there, as a team. They outhustled us, out-willed us at the start of the first and fourth quarters � and that�s what did it. Lke Coach Reeve said, we needed to play well and to get a win in this environment, and we didn�t.

On shooting just 30 percent from the field:
Ball wasn�t going in. A little bit out of rhythm, offensively at times. Some of them were good looks, in and out � didn�t fall.

On the difference in the game:
Defensive stops. Just really not making the hustle play or getting the loose ball when it needed to be made. We let everybody on their team get involved, and they were determined not to let the same outcome happen when we came in last time. Definitely a good learning experience for us, and it's going to continue to test our focus and endurance throughout the season.

On looking ahead to the next game:
Playing Indiana at home, protecting our home court. They�re going to be another team that comes out really tough defensively, very aggressive, so we�re going to have to be more aggressive as far as the defensive mindset we have to have, taking care of the basketball.

2011 Postgame Quotes/Notes Archive

Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus