Phoenix Mercury Postgame quotes:

Mercury Head Coach: Sandy Brondello — 

(On what else Taurasi can do to add to her legacy)

“Can she break anything else? I don’t know she’s broken all the other records. She jokes about if you play long enough you’re going to break these records, but you have to be a pretty special player to do what she’s done.”

(On this being an important game for DeWanna)

“She was actually a little nervous going into the game, having that year away from the X-Factor and being away from this team. Her aggressiveness to the rim, she can play great defense, we’re happy to see her back in a Mercury uniform.”

(On winning first season opener since 2015)

“It’s nice to win that first one because we’ll learn a lot from this. We haven’t played many games together or spent much time together and have four new faces. We’ll continue to get better with the more games we play.”

Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (26 Points, 4 Rebounds) — 

(On 1,000 career three-pointers)

“If you play long enough, it’ll happen. So just play a long time and it’ll happen.”

 (On the having Bonner back)

“It’s so good I love when DB steals all my rebounds. She does so many things on the court and affects the game in so many facets. She’s one of the best players in the world and you miss that when she’s not on the court. When she’s on the court, you can feel her presence.”

Mercury Forward DeWanna Bonner (17 Points, 12 Rebounds) —

(On juggling being a mother and playing) “

“It’s totally different. I’m still kind of get used to it. My coaches and teammates understand that some days I’m just tired. It’s a grind, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. There’s no better feeling than going home and seeing my kids after a hard day of work.”

 (On getting back from pregnancy)

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Be pregnant, give birth to twins, recover, and try to come back and get back in the shape I was in before.”

Dallas Wings Postgame Quotes:

Wings Head Coach Fred Williams On Liz Cambage —

“The plays getting used to her and her being aggressive going to the rim. She is still learning some of our plays and where to go. So it’s going to take about three or four more games to really kick in. I’m really pleased with her being aggressive and helping us on the defensive end.”

 Fred Williams on team’s 4^th quarter performance —

“We gave them second shots and once we gave them second shots they had kick outs and hit threes on us. We ran down the shot clock but didn’t take good shots when we needed to. They made big shots and that was really it.”

Wings Guard Skylar Diggins-Smith (18 Points, 9 Assists) —

(On team chemistry)

“We’re learning. We have only been together for three weeks. There is a learning curve in the league, and you have to learn on the job.”

(On what sparked 4^th quarter run)

“We just have to be aggressive. When they’re calling it like they called it we had to adjust to the game, and that took away some of our aggression. We got it back at the end of the third quarter but we waited too long. You have to credit them, and credit the crowd. They fed off of it. They made some big shots, and that’s a team that has been together and you can tell. For us, we’re still learning each other and trying to figure it out. It’s not an effort thing, just a few mistakes. You have to give them credit. Quick turnaround, we have another home opener on Sunday and it was good for us to get out there and compete.”

Wings Forward Liz Cambage (18 Points, 9 Rebounds) — 

 (On being back in the WNBA after five years)

“It’s good. Five years is a long time. Phoenix is always going to be a tough one opening night. That 4^th quarter killed us, and we have to get back home and we have things to work on.”

(On 4^th quarter performance)

“DeWanna Bonner, she played out tonight. She played a big game and she hit some shots that really killed us. And Dianna (Taurasi) did her thing once again. They have so many great players that it is really hard to shut them down.”