vs. 
POSTGAME QUOTES
JUNE 18, 2004
COMETS COACH VAN CHANCELLOR
On the game:
"It's really hard to score when you're '4' and '5' player(s) are 0-for-8. We just couldn't get anything going. We finally got (Sheila) Lambert going. We couldn't get over the hump. She (Sheryl Swoopes) scored 33 points and got held and bumped and pushed every time she touched the basketball. That was unbelievable.”
On facing the Storm:
“They are just hard to guard. They've just got great players."
SHERYL SWOOPES
On the game:
"I think we all knew we had our work cut out for us today. Seattle is a very good team and losing a player like Tina (Thompson), you know you're going to be missing a lot both offensively and defensively. We started out real sluggish and slow and just didn't play the first half and to be down by only three or four (points) at halftime and to come back and be in the game until the very last minute is a positive. At the same time, it's very frustrating becuase I feel like whether Tina is playing or not, we've all just got to come and play. We can't make any type of excuse. We were playing for first place tonight and we just let it slip away. Seattle's a very good team, but to be able to stay with them until the end without Tina was a positive."
On her career high-tying 33-point scoring night:
"If I could have scored 39, we would have been tied; 40 and we would have won. I think Coach (Van Chancellor) said at shootaround that Tina averages 20 points, and he asked who's going to step up and score 13 more points for me (him). And we all looked at him and I said, 'I'm going to score seven, somebody else would have to get 13, who's going to do that?' I think we all knew we had to step up and play to another level because Tina is playing out of her mind right now. For us to come out here and be in the game with them is definitely a good sign for us. I just thought they (her teammates) did a really good job getting the ball to me and Coach made some really good calls. Unfortunately a lot of our shots in the first half weren't falling. We came in at halftime and said we're right there. If we could get some of our shots to fall, it's another story."
SHEILA LAMBERT
On the game:
"I think everybody played very hard. I think Tiff(ani Johnson), Pollyanna (Johns Kimbrough) and Lu(cienne Berthieu) played hard coming in, stepping in for Tina. I think we worked very hard, extremely hard. First half we couldn't get any baskets to fall, second half ... sometimes it's too late."
On whether she took it upon herself to be an extra force on offense:
"Coach told me to be aggressive. He tells me to be aggressive every day. With Tina out, that's a big part of our scoring, so somebody had to come in there and be a little offensive-minded. I think I did what I usually do."
STORM COACH ANNE DONOVAN
On the game:
"Thirty-three points from Swoopes. She had a remarkable game. We had a tough time trying to stop her. Give her a lot of credit and give Houston a lot of credit. They faced a challenge playing without Tina Thompson and they really came through and played well. It's a little bit easier when you don't have Tina Thompson out there, I'm not going to lie about that. When they run their pick and roll plays, they're much different when Tina's there and when she's not. We've gotten two big wins. One in New York, one here, and we face San Antonio tomorrow night. Unfortunatly we had to play a lot of people a lot of minutes tonight. So hopefully we'll still be fresh tomorrow. I'm sure San Antonio will be eager to run against us."
On closing out the game once the Comets came back:
"We needed to get stops. Swoopes was going off and we were trying to run two people at her to get the ball out of her hands a little bit. We just needed to get some stops and work the offensive glass. It's a good win on the road. There's going to be ups and downs, but it's a win, so it's an up."
SUE BIRD
On the game:
"I think we have a lot of players who know how to play in situations like this. They know how to make plays in these types of situations. Sheri Sam's three was one of those. The fact that she had the guts to take the shot and knock it down shows what we're made of this year. At the end of the game, we have five players who can make a shot like that. The more you do it, the more confidence you get. This is our third or fourth time hanging tough in a close game."
On closing out the game:
"I think the more you're put in these situations and the more you're successful, the more confident you are. At any point anybody can hit a big shot. Tonight it was Sheri. We ran the same play for Lauren (Jackson) the last 10 minutes of the game because if we didn't have Lauren, we had Sheri or Betty getting open because we knew they were going to double and we just needed to find the open person."
SHERI SAM
On her big three-pointer:
"I heard everyone screaming 'no,' but I just didn't hesitate. It felt right. I made eye contact with Betty when we crossed halfcourt. We've run this in practice, covering the baseline, and I was just in the flow. Maybe next time I won't take it now that Coach has said it. I felt it so I shot it. It went in, good. If it didn't, we just needed to get a stop. I'm a player, so I'll live with it. When I first came out I was feeling good. I was getting a lot of looks. The one that needed to go in went in."
On the play of Sheryl Swoopes:
"Sheryl hit some unbelievable shots. She hit some jumpers tonight. She hit them falling and leaning. Only the good Lord could have stopped her. We were right there, but she was in the zone. She was definately playing like Sheryl tonight. Her shots started falling. She was getting more and more confident. She knew she was the main scorer on the floor tonight, so she had nothing to lose. She was just putting it up."
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