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On the game:
We were really out of gas at halftime. We found the reserve tank at halftime. It was a gutsy win. What I’m looking at is more than the stat sheet, the intangibles. How we manage the clock down the stretch, getting stops down the stretch. They made a run a couple of times, but we didn’t let them get closer than six. The last eight minutes were pretty darn good.
On the Storm's determination:
You saw a team tonight that was not going to lose again. We were not going to lose. No matter how tired they were, no matter how much they were disappointed that good shots weren’t falling, that second half that team was not going to lose. We talked going into this game that San Antonio needed this win as much as we did, for different reasons. We knew it was a battle of wills down the stretch. We showed what we’re made of.
On Lauren Jackson's performance:
She finished three-point plays, finished plays through the contact, going to the foul line and finishing up there. She’d seen single coverage the last two games we played them, but tonight they threw two and three people at her. It was much more physical than she’s seen in the past from San Antonio. That was an MVP performance.
On Betty Lennox's defense:
(Agnieszka) Bibrzycka was 1-for-9 tonight for a very good reason. Betty did a heck of a job on her, chasing her off screens and not giving her any space. To me, Betty is the unsung hero of this game. She totally took her out of the flow of her offense.
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On her intensity:
I just wanted to win and that’s where the intensity came from. There was a little bit of frustration, but it wasn’t bad frustration. It was more like we can do this, we can do this, I kept telling myself. We just got really positive about it, and that was good.
On the Silver Stars defense:
It was much more difficult tonight than when we played against them (previously. They actually tried to guard me tonight, which was good. I didn’t play great, but the rest of the team really stepped up. I wasn’t going to lose that game. My mentality was there is no bloody way we’re losing another one. It wasn’t going to happen.
On whether she's been tired:
I wasn’t very tired. That’s just a cop-out. The whole season is like this. I could say that we’re tired the whole season but I don’t think anybody would listen.
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On getting a win:
We want to win. It was important that we get back on the right track and end that losing streak. We just wanted to win and Coach Donovan challenged a bunch of us in the locker room to come out and play harder, especially on defense, and I think we did that.
On scoring 46 points in the second half:
Our offense was there. We knew the shots would drop. We gave them way too many easy shots. I think they shot 50% in the first half, and it’s hard to win when you let a team do that. We really wanted to bear down and play good D. We switched to a zone and we were really active in it and got the job done.
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On the game:
We started off a little slow, turned the ball over and (Seattle) got some easy shots, but we played with some force and some intensity in the first half. (Seattle) came out in the second half … they wanted it more than we did. In the first four minutes they got 12 of their points off of layups - that’s being more aggressive. They got the crowd into it. We took the crowd out of the game in the first half, but they’re a good home team. The game is two halves. The last time we played here, we got blown out in the first half and played well in the second and tonight it was vice versa.
On playing against the Storm:
It’s disheartening - missing shots, then dropping your head and (Seattle) runs and shoots a layup. You try to stay positive … that’s all we can do. They’re a good team. Bird made some great plays and of course Lauren stepped up and they got the win. We have to find a way to get out of it. All we can do is keep working, staying positive with each other and hopefully one of these times the ball will fall our way and we’ll get a win. Teams like this, their trademark is playing hard and being physical, and if you back down, they are just going to keep coming at you and that’s what Seattle did tonight.
On the Storm's 12-0 run to start the second half:
Yeah, it was definitely the difference. After that, I don’t think we stopped competing, but (Seattle) kept playing harder and harder and the crowd got into it. They got more confidence - we took away a little bit of their confidence (in the first half). They had lost three games in a row and they were down at halftime at home coming off a long road trip - we had them. Again, they came out and were aggressive and changed the tide to their favor. The best way to get jump started is to get the crowd into it and get going - and that’s what they did.
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On the game:
We gave up a lot of transition baskets early and came out flat. They just pushed it at us and we didn’t match their intensity. That’s pretty much what happened as far as getting ourselves in a slump in the beginning of the second half and it was hard to get out of it once the crowd started getting into it.
On enduring games like this as a veteran:
It’s tough. It’s not an easy place to be. I don’t wish it on anybody. We just have to keep fighting. There’s definitely a lesson learned in this whole process - you just have to keep fighting and keep pushing on. It’s a difficult situation, but the only way we’re going to get out of it is to keep playing hard and keep focusing on the things we need to do to get better. My forte has always been hard work, so I’m not going to change that. I’ll keep playing hard and hopefully something will eventually give.
On the league's top teams this season:
It’s hard, especially in the West. It’d probably be easier predicting something in the East than in the West. Even though our record is as it is, we’re only three games out of the playoffs. There aren’t too many teams in the West whose records are really that great - I mean the third-place teams are like 8-11. It’s going to be difficult to see who is really going to come out on top in the West. Everybody is pretty much straddling that fence and nobody has really broken out and said, 'We’re the best team.' It’s going to be a dog fight all the way to the end.
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