Quotes: Stars vs. Mystics: 9/10/11

“Give Washington credit, with (Monique) Currie back in the lineup, I thought they played very well. They outplayed us in the first half and I thought we had a solid second half. We gave up one offensive rebound to the best offensive rebounding team in the league. I thought we move the ball much more precisely and sharply. We got fine play out of several positions in the second half. I was really pleased with that. Now, we close the season at Tulsa.”

On executing…

“The biggest stat that was alarming to us was the rebounding in the first half. I thought we were impatient offensively, and I didn’t think we executed very well. I thought they out worked us in the first half. We asked them play to the level we expect. They responded extremely well in the second half. They answered all the things we asked them to do. We played throughout our lineup and got good production from the bench and starters. I thought the execution stepped up in that regard. We played a deeper lineup and I thought Scholanda Robinson really gave us good minutes in the second half.”

On trying to keeping rhythm to the playoffs…

“We’ll sleep on it tonight and take it a look at it. Cautiously, to be honest with you. We will watch the minutes a great deal. I may hold some players. We’re going to have to do it as a team. The one thing I like about this team is, we are starting to play at a level that I want us to maintain. It’s a balancing act between staying at that level and managing the minutes in a back-to-back. We got a game tomorrow. We’ll study our players and we’ll ask the team to step up because we may hold a player out.”

“I feel it important to find our identity here down the stretch. I didn’t think we came out the way she should of. In the second half, we made adjustments and came out a lot stronger. When we get everyone involved, that’s when we are at our best. We weren’t making any shots in the first half. It’s tough when your shooting 30 percent, but we hung in there and turned it around. It was a good team win and I’m glad we could get the win on such a special night with the military in attendance.”

On rhythm and rest before the playoffs…

“Coach does a really good job of making sure we get the right amount of training and rest. He’s always been good about that. I’m not worried about that. I feel like we got a lot of days in between, but we don’t play again until Sunday. That’s about the longest break we’ve had in two months. We want to continue our game rhythm going into the playoffs. We want to play strong and play out type of basketball."

“In a strange way, it has worked for me coming off the bench. Maybe, I’m feeling more relaxed and playing like an old school point guard, where I want to get the ball into Becky’s and Sophia’s hands. My teammates have been awesome, telling me to shoot the ball. Now, I’m helping them by shooting the ball, regardless if it goes in or out.“

“Well we honestly didn’t do a good job at defending the pick-and-roll as we had too many middle drives. Becky [Hammon] just put her team on her back as they made a run while we didn’t respond.”

On being proud of her team after a tough season … “Yeah, we have played with a lot of heart, determination and resiliency for the entire season. We’re young as our team hadn’t been together for very long at all. I think in tight games, experience truly helps as it shows when you don’t have it.”

On her overall thoughts of the season…

“Well, obviously it was a disappointing season as I feel we have some things to build on. We went young as I think Jasmine [Thomas] did a really good job in terms of improving and growing throughout the season. We played most of the season with nine players and about two starters so that made it a little tough. But again, not making any excuses, I think our team played with a lot of heart and determination for the entire season.”

“I thought we started off well as we were aggressive, attacking, and getting to the free throw line as we were scoring pretty well. We were also doing well on defense but in the second half, we just came out slow.”

On the highs and lows from her team’s season

“I feel we definitely grew together as a team as our chemistry was a little bit better. I think we all know there are a lot of things we have to improve on for next year. With the off-season and most of us going overseas, we’re all going to be working on our own individual game.”