Postgame Quotes/Notes - Storm 71, Houston 68
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TONIGHT'S NOTES | |||
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ANNE DONOVAN:
On the difference down the stretch:
We had to change how we were guarding
(Sheryl) Swoopes. We sent two people to her once she caught it, and I think it made a difference. It got her out of her groove a little bit and forced other people to step up. After Swoopes started the highlight reel we knew we couldn’t let her beat us alone. I think that changed the tempo for them down the stretch offensively.
On whether this felt like a playoff game:
Absolutely. It’s a huge win because Houston is a great team. Give Houston a whole lot of credit. That’s a very good basketball team that we just beat. There is a reason that we are now second and they’re third or flip-flop it. It’s confidence that we can take and we’ve got to carry it on the road. We’ve got four more road games so we cannot continue to concede on the road.
On 
Simone Edwards' performance:
She’s the hero of the game no doubt. We kind of struggled to defend (Michelle) Snow; at the end of the first half, that was horrible. What I always tell you about Simone is that she stays ready. It doesn’t matter if she’s playing no minutes, she’s getting the crowd involved, or if it’s garbage minutes or if it’s on a night like tonight when we absolutely need her. And she just stepped up and was huge. She finished her shots, had high energy, I can’t stay enough about her mental ability to stay up no matter what point in the game it is.
On the quality of the game:
There were two MVPs on the floor. With Sheryl on one end and 
Lauren (Jackson) on the other end it, was fun to watch.
On the KeyArena crowd:
It was huge. (Storm COO) Karen Bryant just said she wished we could take 9,000 on the road with us. It would be a whole lot easier. There is a reason we’re comfortable and our record is what it is when we’re here. Our crowd is great, not only in numbers, but the energy and passion that’s in this building that wills us to win games like this down the stretch. It was definitely the difference.
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On Swoopes:
Sheryl had an unbelievable game. She was great.
On Edwards' impact:
Simone was great. She was the hero tonight. She just got out there and played hard, got the crowd going, got the crowd in the game..
On her confidence:
I never take the highs and run with it or the lows and run with it. I just try to stay consistent.
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SUE BIRD:
On winning without
Betty Lennox:This definitely gives us a little bit of a boost, knowing that we could pull this one off without one of our best players. Hopefully by the time we get back, she will be back.
On Dawn Staley's impact for the Comets:
Dawn had seven assists and one turnover. That to me is what she was brought to do for that team. That’s why she’s there, to give the ball to people like Sheryl and Tina (Thompson). Sheryl carried them for most of the game.
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VAN CHANCELLOR:
On the game:
I thought our team, after dropping behind by 13 points, did a great job. You just cannot drop behind 13 points and beat a team like this at home. We made a courageous comeback - I’m proud of that. Give Seattle the credit for hanging on.
On seeing two MVP candidates at their best:
Sheryl was as good as it gets tonight. Lauren Jackson was as good as it gets. Give her credit – she was outstanding.
On going 0-3 on their road trip:
It’s tough. We played three of the best teams in our league.
On benching all five starters late in the first half:
Yeah, I was (trying to send a message). I didn’t think we were playing hard.
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On falling behind early:
That’s been our MO lately. This has been a tough road trip for us - at Phoenix and Sacramento we did the same thing. We dug ourselves a hole in the first half and came back in the second half a completely different team. The problem is we dug ourselves too much of a hole in all three of those losses, but we were right there. It got to the point where it was just too much of a deficit to overcome. Every game is crucial right now. I don’t think it’s that we don’t understand that, because we do. For whatever reason we just can’t put two halves together. If we don’t put teams away we have to at least keep it close. Being down by 13, or even six at halftime, against a very good team, especially when you’re on the road, is going to be hard to overcome. Hopefully we won’t get too down on ourselves and we can learn from our mistakes and also the good things we did in this game. We get them again on Sunday and hopefully it’ll be a different outcome next time.
On her performance:
You know, I got in a rhythm in the second half and everything seemed like it was going well. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough. I don’t think we did anything really differently in the second half than we did in the first half - shots just weren’t falling in the first half and they started falling in the second. I kind of got in a rhythm and everything felt good. I tried to do whatever I could do to at least give my team a chance to be close at the end. We just couldn’t get over the hump.
On how the final play was drawn up:
I came off and really didn’t think I was going to be open. We run that play a lot at the end when we need a three and usually the person guarding the person out of bounds will take me so there’s no way I’m going to be open. We had shooters everywhere - Tina popped out up top, Roneeka (Hodges) cut to the ball side corner for a three and Dawn popped out on the wing. You know, Tina got a shot but it just didn’t go in and that’s part of basketball. I think if we play completely different in the first half, it doesn’t come down to that shot and it’s a different outcome.
