Friday, August 19, 2005 at STAPLES Center
Detroit Shock 67, Los Angeles Sparks 74
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| POSTGAME QUOTES | |||||||||||||||||||||||
On tonight’s loss:“They made every shot in the world. We knew their perimeter shooting wouldn’t hold up and it didn’t. Unfortunately we went in our shell again like we always do. We don’t play for 40 minutes. We will play for 20 minutes or 30 minutes, but we don’t play for 40 minutes. You saw a carbon copy of what our season has been like. We don’t play for 40 minutes. Nolan had a great first half and then she didn’t come with it.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Shock Center Ruth Riley
On tonight’s loss and what they need to do to win games and make it into the playoffs:“It’s a big game, coming down the stretch. Both teams needed to get a win, for their playoff race. There is history between Detroit and L.A. so when we play each other we go to battle. It’s going to be a great game. They shot the ball really well in the first half, they knocked down like every shot. Defensively we just have to keep working hard, knowing those shots are not going to fall the whole game. We have to try to execute on offense and try to pull it back in during the second half.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Shock Guard Deanna Nolan
On tonight’s game and the race for the playoffs:“It did feel like a playoff atmosphere. Both teams don’t like each other pretty much. But, tonight I thought we played well in the first half, they were just making shots, but we knew they were not going to fall the entire game. Second half, we didn’t come out with enough intensity and focus. A lot of open shots we had, we didn’t make. We needed to take it to them a little harder and get them in foul trouble like we did the first half. It’s just one of those games where we didn’t pull out in the end.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sparks Head Coach Joe Bryant
His thoughts about the game:“They expressed themselves out there. They were going to the basket early, you can see the calmness they had on the floor and it looked like they were having fun.” “In the huddle we’re not talking how important this game is, I just want them to play, have flashbacks when they were kids, and it showed out there tonight.” “Once Lisa got in foul trouble, we had to open up the floor more, and penetrate. Tamecka Dixon played very well tonight.”
Addressing the defensive play of his team:
Commenting on his first win as Head Coach:
What he emphasized to his team before the game: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sparks Center Lisa Leslie
Describing the play of her team tonight:“I think the teams really take on the personalities of their coaches. I like Coach Bibby, he was a little more disciplined and structured and I think we ended up playing more that way. Jelly is kind of silly, and a little more free-flowing; maybe it showed on the courts tonight with the way we played.”
On seeing her former coach (Michael Cooper) in the crowd: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sparks Guard Tamecka Dixon
Commenting on her play tonight:“I just played tonight, I felt like I was free for the first time in a long time, and I played hard. Obviously from the point guard position, I try to create. And I found that when I tried to create shots for others, I would end up getting open shots as well.” “It’s fun. I played point guard in my college years, and it felt like I was in a flashback. And it’s fun trying to get everyone else involved, to get their shot, and in turn it comes back to you.”
Reflecting on the performance of her team: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sparks Forward Tamika Whitmore
“I go out, and every time I play I’m kamikaze. I don’t back down from anybody. I’ll take elbows to the face, dive on the floor, and do whatever it takes to help my team win.”
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