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July 16, 2003

Quotes: Silver Stars and Lynx

Silver Stars Quotes:
Lynx Quotes:

Click on a player to read quotes.

Silver Stars Head Coach Candi Harvey:

"We finally got things started with the run, but they had an answer. This team (Minnesota) has so much firepower and can make big plays. I thought we fought so hard to come back, but the back-to-back 'threes' were the backbreakers. You really just can't let Katie Smith have the ball down the stretch. She's such an effective player."

"All of our comebacks came off of our defense and creating shots off turnovers. But what we are really looking for is a 'W'. There are no moral victories in this game. We need wins."

"We played a good game, only having 10 turnovers. That was a great improvement for us. I thought Margo played fabulously. She was aggressive and focused. I'm very happy for her. Adrienne and Marie also played good games. We just couldn't get stops when we needed them."

"Teresa Edwards made some big shots tonight, as did Sheri Sam. Teresa obviously has control of this team. She does whatever the team needs. She doesn't need to score. She is just a great floor leader. It's great to have her in the league. I just wish she was in the Eastern Conference."

"Gwen has been a tremendous rebounder for us all year, but this was her first game back in a week and a half. She had a boot on her foot for a week. She only had one offensive rebound, and we're so accustomed to getting more than that. Gwen doesn't have to score, but she is our leader on the boards. Hopefully we can get her back to where she was before her injury. But the rebounding margin definitely hurt us tonight."

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Jennifer Azzi:

"I think that Minnesota did a great job. When we came back, they held together. Sometimes when you get on a run, it's hard to turn that corner… (It's hard) for any team to do that when you're down. I give them a lot of credit for staying together and playing really well."

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Margo Dydek:

"We know that even when we are behind in the second half, we can get back. We can get a run and get back in the game. We have to do it earlier in the game, and figure out how to finish."

"The league is tough. On each team some players get double-teamed, and we're used to that. We just have to find the open player, because if somebody is doubled, someone else is open. We just have to play smart, keep our focus, and find the open player."

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Marie Ferdinand:

"I thought we played well offensively. We played better defensively, but I thought when we had to make stops -- when we tied the game and had to make a stop -- we just didn't get those one or two stops that we needed to get the lead and hold on to the lead. Our rotation just wasn't there."

"I don't think it was rust. I thought we played really well tonight. I thought we played a good enough ballgame to win the game tonight. We just got beat on the boards. The rebounding cost us, and we just didn't get those key stops when we tied the game."

"It's not just Katie. Teresa hit some huge three-point shots, and so did Abrosimova. Tamika played well. She got some huge rebounds. They outrebounded us big… She (Edwards) still amazes me. She went in one time and did a reverse layup, and I'm like, 'She's too old to be doing that.' But she's still a threat out there."

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Minnesota Coach Suzie McConnell Serio:

"Having the high expectations that I always have, I thought we would have 10 wins before the All-Star Break. But obviously for players who have been here last year, to match the number of victories from last year is an accomplishment. But we're not satisfied. We still need to be hungry for the rest of the season. We have the opportunity to be a playoff team." 

"We didn't take care of the ball -- didn't make good decisions -- and they capitalized. We got nonchalant. We didn't play smart during that run. I was very close to calling a second timeout, after we called the first one when they started the run. But knowing that the next dead ball would be a media timeout, we walked away with two timeouts. Fortunately this time it worked out, and we were able to come back and hit two big 'threes'… Katie and Svet, they don't think twice. They're players that, with the ball in their hands, have the confidence to take that shot when the game's on the line."

"Sometimes it's hard to match when a team plays with a sense of urgency. You play at a higher speed, and sometimes it's very difficult to play that way for 40 minutes."

"I think it (scoring) is what she (Edwards) is known for, prior to coming into the WNBA. Teresa Edwards was always a scorer, and here she's asked to be a point guard. Tonight they were keying on our wings, denying the entry pass, but she was able to penetrate or hit shots when they left her."

"I'm worried about Katie. I think her not getting a rest over the All-Star Break… She played 35 minutes, but I wasn't anticipating her playing that many minutes -- especially with the back-to-back. But she's a gamer. She's definitely a player we want on the floor -- we need on the floor. She's a winner. Every game is important to us. You can't look at the schedule and say that you can rest a player this game. But if Katie is not healthy, then that is just going to give someone like Shaun Gortman -- who didn't get an opportunity tonight -- a chance to come in."

"We have the opportunity to avenge an earlier loss to Cleveland, in a game we didn't play very well. I think it's a pride thing, not to go 0-2 against Cleveland."

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Katie Smith:

"It's one game at a time. We're just trying to keep our position in the West -- keep going out and playing hard, try to obviously get some respect and get into the playoffs. Hopefully we'll get 10 more wins."

"You wonder how -- coming into the game with four days off, and obviously everybody goes their own way -- how to keep their focus. I think there may have been a little cobwebs. But everybody came out ready to play. It looked a little rough at times, but we maintained and made big plays when we needed to. 'T' played well, Sheri, Svet… You know, we all did. We kind of did our part to keep our poise and maintain our lead throughout the ballgame."

"She (Edwards) is aggressive. She penetrated and finished. She just handled everything. For her to be aggressive, and looking for her shot and knocking them down, it really gave her confidence -- and obviously helped us in big spells. She hit some big ones for us. Whenever she steps up, I feel really good. Even if she's not always making her shots, she going to run the team and get the ball into people's hands. This was a teeny-weeny bit of what she can do. She's helping us out a great deal, and it's a lot of fun to have her out there. "

"We've got a big game coming up tomorrow (at Cleveland). They came in here and whipped us pretty good. They took it at us, so I'm excited about playing Cleveland tomorrow night."

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Teresa Edwards:

"It felt good to get a good one like this. I think it's my job always to stay in control of the flow of the game as best I can. I was fortunate my shots went in. I took a little more, and they went in. When my body feels better and better every game, I'm not going to hesitate to do what I do out there. I think the better I feel, the more naturally I play. You can see that. But believe me, I'll relax and let them do the work if they do it."

"To me, I knew that if we had good execution of the basketball -- with our style and our strength, it was going to be an easy game. When we have those type of games, we have to put people away. I had a coaching mentality of getting frustrated that we weren't putting people away. We were kind of letting them hang around."

"Being a competitor, I still want to win and make the playoffs. And certainly I have goals for this team. I don't just want to be here and be a part of the league. I want to be here and make things happen. I'll do the best I can every time I go out."

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