vs. 
POSTGAME QUOTES
JUNE 19, 2004
COMETS COACH VAN CHANCELLOR
On the game:
"Minnesota played great tonight. They deserved to win, period. We're not a very good basketball team right now. Execution, rebounding, defense; Minnesota simply beat us -- start to finish -- tonight. They really outplayed us.”
On Katie Smith's defense of Sheryl Swoopes:
“Katie Smith is a tremendous player. She had a great game tonight. That's why she's on the Olympic team. (Swoopes) played a great game last night, but she's hurting. I thought Katie did a great job defensively on her. She still managed, though, to get some points at the end."
On the effect of playing a back-to-back:
“I think all this back-to-back talk is bull. I don't believe in that excuse. What I do believe is that they outplayed us, and that's why we lost."
SHERYL SWOOPES
On the loss:
"Obviously any time you lose it's going to be disappointing, especially when you put yourselves in an opportunity to be able to win the game. I felt we were in a perfect position last night to win. We knew that coming on the road, playing a back-to-back, was going to be tough."
On the Lynx:
"I didn't think Minnesota did anything special. I didn't think they did anything that we didn't expect them to do. I felt that the game was definitely very winnable. It's just frustrating that we're not executing and playing the game the way we do in practice. If we could just get our practices over to the games... We're a completely different ballclub when we do that."
On Katie Smith:
"Katie is a great player. Katie and I go all the way back to college. I know her game, she knows my game. It makes it really tough when you're playing a player like that. She can do so many things, and you definitely have to rely on your teammates to help you out. She can drive, penetrate, she can shoot the 'three'... She's a great player, and it's definitely a challenge for me as an individual, and I think it's a challenge for everyone as a team. Katie's a good player."
On playing through her injury:
"You've just got to play through (injuries), especially at this point. We're already playing without Tina, which is hurting us a lot right now. We've just got to have other players step up."
MICHELLE SNOW
On the Comets:
"(What's most frustrating is) seeing how we battle each other in practice, and seeing how much talent we have that we're not utilizing. It's embarrassing. We're playing terrible basketball."
On what the Comets need to do to get better:
"We just, individually, all have to take responsibility for our roles and what we bring to this team -- be it rebounding, defense, playing smart. There's any number of things. We're just not playing smart right now. We're not playing with energy. We're not boxing out and rebounding."
LYNX COACH SUZIE McCONNELL SERIO
On the game:
"We came out with a different attitude. It was different in shootaround, before the game and in the locker room. We addressed this yesterday. We wanted to play with energy, enthusiasm and with tempo. We always talk about the fact that we are a better team when we play at a faster tempo."
On the Lynx offense:
"We had 17 turnovers, which is much more livable than the 25 we had the other night. We had 12 in the first half, but (only) five in the second -- and a lot of our mistakes were correctable. We also addressed our rebounding issue and beat them on the boards. Our players weren't hesitating on offense. We shot the ball with confidence. We were very aggressive and didn't sit and wait."
On getting off to a quick start:
"Once we got off to a good start, it was contagious for the entire team. We played with aggressiveness. You could see that in our first subs, which were Helen Darling and Tasha Butts. They applied great pressure on defense. Their type of play is contagious. We need to have players come off the bench and contribute like that."
On Tamika Williams:
"She was big for us. There's no doubt about that. Rebounding, she was very aggressive. When she is looking for her shot and is on the move like she was tonight, Tamika Williams is at her best. When she is active, we can utilize her more. She came out with a different attitude. Players respond to her. She is a difference-maker. She's a leader on and off the court. She is playing with three new post players, so she needs to be the consistent one."
On facing the Comets:
"We wanted to play with a sense of urgency after the two losses. Houston was playing back-to-back, so we wanted to get out and run. But tonight was really about taking care of ourselves. They were without Tina Thompson, who is an unbelievable player. It will take time for them to adjust to playing without her. I love her game and what she brings. She's a tough matchup for anyone."
On the Lynx injuries:
"We got some good news today from the doctors. (Abrosimova) can start practicing. Right now, we will just be running her through the offense and working on shooting. We won't be running her at full speed or putting her in contact drills. We're going to be taking it day by day. It could be two weeks. It depends on how she progresses and how she recovers from workouts. We will be very cautious with her. We're very excited about this news. She brings another veteran and another scorer."
KATIE SMITH
On the win:
"I think it was mental tonight. We got ourselves going on both ends of the floor, and we were more aggressive. On defense, we were anticipating. On offense, we were making cuts and setting better picks. But all that starts with your mental state. We got our heads together, and everybody came out ready to go. When we started out the first four minutes, it was a clear indication we were ready to go -- ready to push the ball and ready to take advantage of what we would get."
On the Lynx:
"We feel good about any night. Sometimes when you take a player away from a team, they almost play better. Yeah, Tina brings a lot to the table, but we feel comfortable and confident every night. Yet we've got to take care of ourselves to have a chance to win the game. The bottom line is, if you take care of your own end and play defense, you're going to be in a good position to win every game."
TAMIKA WILLIAMS
On the victory:
"I think we just refocused as a whole team. I looked in the mirror, Katie looked in the mirror... We had to refocus. After warm-ups, I looked at Katie and said, 'We're ready.' And that's the first time I've said that this season. People had 'and-ones', we had huddles... Just the little things it takes to win."
On getting ready for the game:
"I didn't sleep (after Thursday's loss). All the turnovers, I'm in foul trouble, and Katie couldn't do anything... We had to take advantage of (Sacramento), but we didn't. But you put it in the past. This isn't college or high school. You don't play one game a week; you play three."
On her game:
"For me to be effective -- whether rebounding, passing or scoring -- the offense has to be running. I can run, but if it's stagnant, then it's ugly. Tonight we had people scoring five, eight, 10 points -- and that was the difference."
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