Postgame Quotes/Notes - Storm 73, Phoenix 58
September 15, 2004
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On the bench's impact:
I thought Tully (Bevilaqua) and Simone (Edwards) came in and made a huge difference. We started to score instead of throwing the ball away and we were able to keep our spacing and find the open player.
On the offense's struggles in the first half:
The 13 turnovers we had at halftime were horrendous. We didn’t even get a chance to shoot the ball, we turned it over so much. We were very impatient, no ball reversal and we tried to force a lot of action down low. The positive thing is, by the 3/4 mark of the first half we got it.
On what the Mercury did defensively:
Phoenix plays a funky style of defense and we’ve seen that style of defense from several teams recently. So we’ve had a lot of work against it, and we were successful at Indiana attacking it the second half. It just took a while before we finally caught on.
On shooting 26 free throws:
We knew they were going to be physical. They are one of the league leaders in sending people to the foul line, so our goal was to get to the free-throw line, to take the contact and take the free throws. I think we expected that.
On playing tough games recently:
Right now I wouldn’t want to be cakewalking through games, and then get to the playoffs and not have this kind of experience. I think we’ve seen just about every different kind of defense we’re going to see. I don’t anticipate seeing anything new. We’ve learned some valuable lessons since the break. I feel good about where we’re at. Our bench is playing very well, which we've got to have coming down the stretch.
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On the Storm's first-half offense:
We had 12 turnovers and 12 points in the first eight minutes of the game, but once we got through that I wasn’t frustrated at all.
On hitting her first three of the game in the final two minutes:
I was trying to hit a three, just because I felt like it. I missed my first one, so I said, “Take it slow, release it slow,” so I just took a minute, focused and shot it.
On clinching home-court advantage:
We’ve got the best fans in the league. Whenever we step on the court here, we know we have an extra edge.
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On her eight assists:
My shot wasn’t falling, so I just wanted to get in there and draw the defense. The style they play, they’re going to come at you. We did a good job of moving and I was able to find the right person.
On the Mercury's defense:
The way they play defense, we just had to hang in there and eventually we’ll figure it out. They switch, then they double and then they’re in help and it’s hard. They’ve very aggressive with it. Early on, we had a lot of turnovers because we tried to force it, but eventually we calmed down, we figured things out. Everybody made some big shots, especially Lauren, and we were scoring.
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On the role of fatigue in the loss:
Of course, whenever you play a back-to-back, it’s tough. We came out and played a great first half, but we just didn’t control the momentum in that stretch coming into halftime. We struggled to keep the lead there and credit to Seattle - they got rolling with the momentum and we unfortunately didn’t have any timeouts left because we’d used them for injuries. They dominated us on the boards. Lauren had a sensational night.
On the Storm's second-half runs:
We lost our heads a little in the second half, I think. Credit to Seattle - they upped the ante and we struggled to score. For a patch there, we were in the middle of the desert and couldn’t find any water - it was a flat-out drought. It’s a big lesson for us. We knew coming into this road trip that it was going to be tough going back-to-back in L.A. and Seattle. Our goal was to try and steal a win. It didn’t happen, but we have to keep ourselves in line and get Washington.
On going forward:
This game for us was about hopefully moving ourselves up if we could make the playoffs. Now it’s about just making the playoffs. We’re in must-win situations now with our next two games, but we’re all about one game.
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On fatigue being a factor in the second half:
No, we just didn’t play as well as in the first half. When you get to this point in the season, everyone is tired and I don’t think we’ll use that as an excuse tonight.
On Phoenix's remaining two games:
We just have to win them. Our season depends on each game now. If we lose one, we’re probably out of the playoff hunt. Right now we have to win our next two - that’s the bottom line.
On going back home:
It’s always helpful being at home with the crowd, so there’s definitely a benefit to being at home for the last two.
On improving on her last performance in Seattle:
We lost, so I don’t really care about playing well … as long as we win. But we didn’t get the things we needed to get done. We did in the first half, but we didn’t in the second half. Defensively, offensively - it’s always been a tale of two halves with this team. We played them the same way the first time we were here - up at halftime. They came out in the second half, punched us in the face and we just backed down. They played well too, so you have to give them credit.
On Jackson:
She’s one of the best players in the world, so whenever you have someone like that on your team, it just brings a different dimension. She just demands so much attention that it’s hard to guard her and at the same time guard everyone else. We just have to suck it up and learn how to do it because if we make the playoffs, it’s either them or Los Angeles.
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