"It's a number. It's not (something) you come into a game preparing for point-wise. It's a testament to just being consistent, having longevity, and taking care of business every night. The fact that we are still going at an older age feels good. I just want to go out there and compete every night. Hats off to Lisa, Tina and I for getting up there. They are my peers and we have all grown up together. We have played USA basketball together, yet people might know them more than me, but I have been right there with them the whole time. Same place, same things."
- Detroit Shock guard Katie Smith on becoming the third WNBA player to reach the elusive 5,000-point milestone

''I'm sorry. I can't dunk a basketball. I can shoot, pass and defend, but I can't do what Candace did. She has that extra skill. She's got something others don't have. Right now, she has the world's attention.''
- Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman on what rookie Candace Parker brings to the WNBA, to the Chicago Sun-Times

"Jamie is a good player. She has been in the system for about three years. In all due respect to Lindsay, who I think is a great player and an MVP candidate and things like that, I saw Connecticut beat Indiana without her contributing a whole lot the other night. This Connecticut team is more than just what Lindsay provides. They have good players across the board."
- Storm coach Brian Agler on the play of guard Jamie Carey, who was filling in for Lindsay Whalen in Sunday's loss in Connecticut

"Sure feels better tonight than it did the other night. I'm glad our players responded to the adversity of the other night. … We need to get back to playing like we did earlier in the season. We need to have our defensive intensity the entire game. … We're not only battling for fourth place, we're also battling to move up to third or second."
- Indiana coach Lin Dunn after Saturday's 87-72 win over Atlanta, a stark contrast to Thursday's 84-58 home loss to Connecticut

"We came out and just shot bad. It's funny because the whole time during the break we worked on defense, and my focus wasn't on offense. And we came out and got shots, but we missed layups, jumpers, tips, put-backs, basically everything."
- Mercury coach Corey Gaines on Thursday's 77-55 loss to San Antonio

"This move was key for us. She is one of those players that knows the game. She thinks the game and is patient on offense and she is going to make great decisions for us."
- Shock guard Deanna Nolan on trading for new teammate Taj McWilliams-Franklin

"We just need to come ready to play. We need to execute our game plan. We were doing that before the break so I guess it's just a matter of getting reacquainted... We weren't the same team we were about 3½ weeks ago. We just need to get back to that."
- Comets forward Tina Thompson on what her team needs to work on after Thursday's loss to Seattle

"The camaraderie on that team was fantastic. We didn't have any negativity. People got along. We understood what we were there to do, so that was a positive experience all the way around."
- Sun coach (and U.S. Olympic team assistant coach) Mike Thibault on the vibe around the USA's gold medal squad, to the Hartford Courant

"We've got seven games left and we've got our work cut out for us. The West is so closely bunched, you don't have time to ease back into it. You have to jump right back into things."
- Sparks rookie Candace Parker on getting back into the final weeks of the WNBA regular season after the Olympic break, to the L.A. Daily News

"The best part about the break for us is we got to stay in first place for a month."
- Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault, to the Associated Press

"She passed it around during the team meeting. We all got to touch it. I'll never be an Olympian, so this was the next best thing, living it through someone else."
- Veteran Monarchs point guard Ticha Penicheiro on teammate Kara Lawson's gold medal from Beijing, to the Sacramento Bee

"Everything that comes out of her mouth is very motivational. She said she was very proud of me, and I was very proud of her. She was telling me that I got better since we've played together, and she loved the way I worked. But half of that goes to her, because I admire her and I try to do some of the things she does."
- U.S. gold medalist Sylvia Fowles on Olympic teammate Lisa Leslie, to the Kansas City Star

"She does not have great English, but her character is very positive. She can jump in with the team, laughing, even though she may not understand."
- Toshinori Koga, Yuko Oga's agent, on Oga's ability to fit in with her teammates in Phoenix, to the Arizona Republic