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On the game:
I think it is huge that this team played that way down the stretch. We came out and got exactly what we wanted with Lauren (Jackson) on the line and Betty (Lennox) hitting that shot that we drew up. At the end of the game, we have to be focused and be able to execute. And how committed they are to getting each other open to make big plays. I thought we had it for most of the game, but we went completely cold in the second half when we couldn’t knock down a shot. But we stayed in the game. Often times when you shoot that poorly, we end up getting blown out. (Tamika) Catchings began to heat up and there was a stretch when I was concerned. But down the stretch, we got stops when we had to. When we weren’t scoring for that long stretch, they weren’t scoring either. That was probably one of the poorest shooting games that I’ve seen in a long time.
On the timing of Catchings suffering a bloody nose and leaving the court:
She was definitely starting to heat up. We called a timeout to change up how we were guarding her and it was good timing. A couple of things went in our favor; that and Stephanie (White) on the free throw line. We had a little bit of luck to boot tonight.
On winning close games despite not playing particularly well:
I think we’ve done that. The last time out against Washington in overtime, we had execution down the stretch. The more you’re tested, the more ready you are the next time. So for me, this is all great training to come out on top. The more close games you play and come out on top, the more confident you are the next time out. There was no doubt in my mind that we have the confidence, the only question was if we could hit an outside shot. Betty stepped up when she had to.
GUARD SUE BIRD:
On the game:
We really pulled that one out. We got some lucky breaks at the end with White missing those free throws and then throwing the ball out of bounds. It really put us in a position to win. Lauren’s free throws and Betty’s shot were huge.
On the Storm's offense:
We have so many weapons on this team it can be any person on any given night. Lauren is really the backbone of that. She always brings it ever single night. Lauren obviously had a tremendous game for us and her back was even bothering her, so to not be 100% and still score 25 points…. We just have
so many weapons. If I’m not shooting well, if Sheri (Sam)’s not shooting well, Betty will step up. Kamila (Vodichkova) had 10 rebounds. There is always some way that someone can contribute and I think Adia (Barnes) did a great job tonight. JB (Janelle Burse) went down in practice and Simone (Edwards) came in and gave us some great minutes. I think everybody really helped tonight and that is what got us this win. I don’t think we played that well, but we’ll take it.
On Catchings' bloody nose:
I don’t think the pop in the nose was intentional. She was on fire, for her to have to leave the game that was obviously a big play. She was hitting some tough shots. To whoever did it, thank you.
On the difference in the game:
It was really our defense tonight. For a long time we didn’t score. The score was stuck on 43-42 for a really long time. What kept us in it was our defense. We didn’t give them anything easy until Catchings caught fire there. Otherwise it was our defense that kept us in.
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On the game:
We had a great effort from our team. I’m not disappointed in my team. We played a heck of a game. Great defensive effort, we rebounded the ball. We turned it over a few too many times and we missed free throws at the end and it cost us the game. Otherwise, I thought we outplayed them, to be quite honest with you, but, hey, they got the win, they made the plays they had to make down the stretch, so I give them credit for that.
On how Catchings' bloody nose affected momentum:
Well, it hurt us, obviously. She had just started to get on a roll shooting the ball, and then she’s got a bloody nose and I’ve got to take her out and miss three, four minutes, or whatever it was. That hurts us. We were up six at the time, and basically the game came right back to us at that time. That’s just the way it goes.
On defending Jackson:
We changed our defense up a little, tried to give her some different looks. We were fronting her in the beginning; they started to make some adjustments to fronting, so we went to doubling. We doubled her a little bit, tried to take the ball out of her hands, make somebody else beat her. We did a good job of that. As I said, we played a very good defensive game. I don’t know the last time Seattle shot 32% from the field or whatever they shot; it’s probably been a long time since they’ve had that happen. They’re one of the leading field-goal shooting teams in the league, so defensively we were very good. We turned it over a few too many times - 16 turnovers, that’s a little high for us - and we missed some free throws and that was basically the difference.
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On positives from the game:
Yeah, I think we did really good on defense. We totally executed our game plan defensively. We kinda fell off with all the turnovers we had. If we would have even scored on half the turnovers we had, we would have won the game.
On her bloody nose:
Obviously, our team needs me to be on the court, especially down the stretch. We were up four in that little time-frame, but coming out, it’s a different feel to the game. Going down the stretch, a lot of players wanted for me to have the ball, so we had to switch and try to find somebody else. But I think we handled it well. It’s just down the stretch, we couldn’t execute our plays, some crucial free throws we needed.
On playing against Jackson:
I want to become a better player, and to become a better player you’ve got to play against the best. I feel like every night, when I’m matched up against the best player on the other team, that’s a challenge for me, and I love to be challenged in those situations. The times that I did play against her, I felt like I did good. I held my own against her defensively. I’m only 6-1, she’s 6-5, so some shots she’s going to shoot over me. She’s a great player, so I expect that.
Notes:
