vs. 
POSTGAME QUOTES
AUGUST 3, 2002
COMETS COACH VAN CHANCELLOR
On the Houston weather:
"Coming here tonight I have never driven in such a rain storm in my life, I could not see in front of me. And I said on the way over here, we couldn't get 9,000 in here and we drew 13,411 tonight and I don't see how. On a night like tonight at 5:30 I couldn't see the car in front of me."
On the play of Sonja Henning:
"She did a pretty good job on Shannon Johnson. So often you think about points, but when you look at a player, her defense on Pee Wee Johnson , who's a moan and a groan to guard, nine rebounds, just unbelievable."
On Shannon Johnson:
"She's a great player, penetrates, makes all the plays. She makes (Nykesha) Sales and Katie Douglas better."
SHERYL SWOOPES
On why it's so tough to play Orlando:
"I think coming into this game, it was going to be a tough game. Orlando is a good team and they always play us tough, especially tougher here (in Houston) than they do at home in Orlando. They're coming off of some huge wins and I think we really knew what to expect from them. I think (Orlando coach) Dee Brown has done a great job with them this season in getting them ready. Having played them in exhibition kind of gave us an idea what to expect, even though there were some things that changed, they've gotten better, but we have, too. I thought we came on, especially in the second half, and really executed things that we wanted to do. We did a better job, didn't make as many turnovers in the second half as we did in the first half. I think that was one of the biggest differences in the game."
On not putting Orlando away after Houston's nine-point lead:
"I thought when we were up by nine points, we were talking to each other, we said, 'OK, this is it; let's go ahead and get them out of the game.' Our shots just weren't falling, offense wasn't there, we were stopping them, we were shutting them down from scoring, but we couldn't get anything to fall. And then they came back, making it even, I think we knew they still had a run left in them. I think it was up to us to overcome that and not allow them to take a lead. We stopped them at crucial points of the game. That was one of the biggest differences of the game."
SONJA HENNING
On the game:
"It's a great win, we had a great crowd, we hit some really great shots, Sheryl had a great shot. Janeth (Arcain) had a good game. It was a great team win."
On defending Shannon Johnson:
"She is a great player. She is certainly one of the, if not the, best point guards in the league. What makes her dangerous is her ability to score from the three-point line and in the paint, she drives to the basket. She has a great jump shot. She also rebounds extremely well, so the best you can do is contain her and hope your teammates help you out, which they did tremendously tonight."
MIRACLE COACH DEE BROWN
On the game:
"We played hard; we gave a good effort. We came out strong, jumped on them quick, but they're a good team for a reason. They're second in the West, breathing down L.A.'s back for first place. We just didn't hit any shots tonight. We hit 35 percent from the field. It's tough on the road against a good team and Sheryl (Swoopes), she does what she does. She made some big plays down the stretch, hit some key shots for them and that's why she's a legitimate MVP candidate because she steps up the team when it needs to be done. If we had hit some shots it there, it might be a different outcome."
On the outcome:
"We just didn't hit the shots. As far as shooting, Pee Wee (Shannon Johnson) was 3-for-19, probably her worst shooting game of the year. It's tough when your best player goes 3-for-19, you still have a chance to win the game, on the road against a very good team that's won 11 home games in a row. We gave ourselves a chance to win. I don't think it's a lack of concentration, I think we just couldn't hit shots tonight. We worked so hard on defense, you come down you might be a little winded or tired, and not put down shots that you need to. I'm very proud of our ladies. We'd like to get a win, but as for effort, we definitely gave 110 percent tonight."
On the second half:
"We kept being aggressive. We had to be aggressive, since you know who's going to shot the shots - Sheryl, Tina (Thompson) and Janeth (Arcain). We made them make tough shots and we got rebounds. When the time came, Swoopes stepped up and made some big shots. But our defense continued to put the pressure on them. It was one of those games where the ball wasn't going through the hoop in the second half."
NYKESHA SALES
On the game:
"I think for the most part it was an off night for us. We shot 70 shots and only hit 25, and that told a lot about the game. I think we played them pretty well and we were still in it until the end. We gave ourselves a chance to win, but the shots weren't falling for us."
On the second half:
"I think that was key (picking it up offensively and defensively). We took care of the ball, only had six turnovers. We got a lot more shots than them, but when they've got them going in the basket, it's going to be hard to win. We're still going in the right direction. If we would have hit just a few more shots, it would have been a better game. We just continue to fight. We're trying to make the playoffs, so we're going to play hard these last five or six games."
KATIE DOUGLAS
On the game:
"I think we played hard, but you have to give Houston credit. They hit the shots when they needed to, but we didn't hit our shots. Overall, our performance we gave 110 percent effort, but we just didn't come up with the shots."
On the second half:
"You have those kind of nights where your shots just aren't on. We got off to a good start, and we got back in the game with our defense, but when we needed to make big shots, and our shots just weren't falling all night. It's just a matter of having and off night. We haven't had one of those in a long time."
SHANNON JOHNSON
On the game:
"It was definitely one of those nights that I couldn't throw a rock in the ocean, that's how bad it was. They played very good defense, they knew what they needed to do to put the ball in people's hands to score for them, Tina (Thompson) and Sheryl (Swoopes) and then I thought (Janeth) Arcain put in her part too. They have players that can step up to the spotlight and, unfortunately for us, we didn't put the ball in the basket tonight."
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