"Tell me about it, and that's how good she is. She's proven that and now everyone in the world of professional basketball, men's and women's, know this young lady can play. … I liken her to Magic Johnson. When he came into the league with the Los Angeles Lakers, everybody was like, a 6-9 point guard? Nobody could fathom that. But he came in, did what he did and became a legend. I think she's going to do that on the women's side."
- Sparks head coach Michael Cooper on the 34 point, 12 rebound, 8 assist debut of rookie and No. 1 draft pick Candace Parker

"Obviously, it was better than I expected."
- Sparks forward Candace Parker after her successful WNBA debut

"It's going to be great. … She's already a phenomenal player but there are things we can always improve on and once she gets that and fixes little things that need improving, the sky's the limit for us."
- Sparks legendary center Lisa Leslie on Parker, her new teammate

"I was grabbed twice when I was trying to take the shot. I apologize to the team for getting a technical foul. It was a critical moment and we still had a chance to win the game."
- Mercury guard Cappie Pondexter on her three-point attempt in the waning moments that would have tied the game

"Felt good. I have been a nervous wreck, a lot of anxiety. I've been waiting for this for a long time."
- The Fever's Katie Douglas on her successful debut back in her home state of Indiana

"My thing is this: We are entertainers first and foremost. What we do is entertainment. I feed off of that. I feed off the loudness of the crowd. Even a fan calling my name and telling me I'm not being tough enough. I feed off of that."
- Sun forward Tamika Whitmore on the excitement of playing at Mohegan Sun Arena

"She could be starting for any team including ours. I told her today that I thought that I needed her to come off the bench, and she said that was fine with her. I know that she would like to start, but she'll do whatever is best for our ball club."
- Shock coach Bill Laimbeer on the role of 2007 Sixth Woman of the Year Plenette Pierson

"We need to work on our chemistry as a team. We need to do the intangible things like getting on the boards, fighting for loose balls… basically just effort. Effort was a big thing tonight."
- Houston Comets coach Karleen Thompson after Saturday's loss to Detroit, on what the team need to work on

"This is my home. I played here in high school, my family is here and the beach is here. It's really nice to be back. It's always a bittersweet thing to come back to Sacramento."
- Silver Stars forward Erin Buescher on returning to Sacramento

"It was the home opener. I don't know how you can come out flat."
- New York coach Pat Coyle on the Liberty struggling in the first half and losing their home opener to Connecticut

"I look at the Liberty as any other team. I was able to start my career here some years ago. It was unfortunate I wasn't used as an offensive player, but I was a scorer coming out of college and I'm still a scorer now."
- Sun forward Tamika Whitmore on playing her former team and scoring 17 points to lead Connecticut to its second win in two days