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POSTGAME QUOTES
AUGUST 8, 2002
COMETS COACH VAN CHANCELLOR
On the game:
"That was the most gutsiest win I have ever seen. Without Tina Thompson, what incredible team play, and Snow, the rookie, she really stepped up."
On second half adjustments:
"We got Sheryl loose in the second half. I was worried we were not going to get enough offense. We finally found a way to score. We had so much trouble scoring in the first half but Sheryl Swoopes was the turning point, she had 31 in the game."
On guarding Lisa Leslie:
"We doubled down on Lisa Leslie tonight. It was great team defense. There is no better player in the world than Lisa Leslie. Our rookie did a great job, it was her first start, and she went for 11 rebounds and 16 points, that is not bad."
SHERYL SWOOPES
On the game:
"We knew it was going to be tough without Tina, definitely tough without her. I think everybody on the team did a great job of stepping up. Michelle Snow really stepped up."
On Michelle Snow:
"She was huge for us tonight. She had three early fouls, but I kept telling her to settle down, and that we needed her. Leslie had five fouls late in the game, and I told her to take it to her."
MICHELLE SNOW
On the game:
"I am just glad that my coach and teammates had confidence in me. I was a rookie, going against a veteran, one of the best players in the league. We doubled down and tried to be aggressive. We played with heart."
SPARKS COACH MICHAEL COOPER
On the game:
"Houston did everything they had to do. They have an MVP player on their team, Sheryl Swoopes. Sheryl said all year long that maybe we would not have won a championship if she were here. I am starting to think she is right."
On what it takes to beat Houston:
"We need heart. We were prepared, it is just about going out there and winning the basketball game. I am troubled about our heart and our desire to win. Every time the game has been on the line for us this year, we haven’t had the ability to go out there and win."
On Houston's defense:
"They are the number one defensive team in the league for a reason. We did a terrible job of getting to the basket, we settled for jump shots, and Houston will let you do that."
On losing homecourt advantage to Houston:
"This is not a wake up call, the wake up call was five games ago. This Houston team wants the championship that we took from them, back."
LISA LESLIE
On Houston’s defense:
"They slow the game down to their tempo, a much slower, half court game. [On offense] You never know where their shots come from. Swoopes does that same move every time and just kept getting open."
On what’s wrong with the Sparks:
"We have the heart and the desire to win, it just seems like it is harder on one side of the floor then the other."
TAMECKA DIXON
On the game:
"This is a tough loss, I didn’t play the way I should have for this team tonight. They just took it to us."
MWADI MABIKA
On the game:
"It seemed like they were the champions and we were trying to get it from them. They came out aggressive and out-hustled us."
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