“This is going to be a tough team. Any team as scrappy as they are, especially making their first playoff appearance, is going to come and give us all that we can handle. It’s going to be up to us to get our game plan down, both offensively and defensively and go up to Minnesota and compete against them.”
On concerns regarding playing Minnesota:
“What concerns me is that they have two players, Katie Smith and Svetlana Abrosimova, that could possibly score 30 points. Therefore, our defense will be geared toward them. We won’t overlook the other players, but we’ll definitely keep an eye on Katie and Svetlana.”
On team strengths for the Sparks during the playoffs:
“Being in the playoffs the past couple years and winning a championship gives us playoff experience. Our other weapon is that we can go seven, eight, nine players deep. Obviously our size is going to be important for us. With Lisa [Leslie], [DeLisha] Milton and [Jennifer] Gillom, we can go big and get the ball inside and back out to some of our shooters for open shots.”
On players needing to step up:
“The whole team needs to step up. It’s not just one person. The whole team needs to take it to another level. That’s why I love the end of the season, champions always find a way to win and take their game to another level.”
On going 4-0 against Minnesota during the 2003 regular season:
“All that is out the window. This is a whole new season. Minnesota is looking at a new slate. This is playoffs and we just need to come prepared to win the first game.”
