Postgame Quotes/Notes - Storm 75, Sacramento 61
July 3, 2004
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On Lauren Jackson's performance:
I think she�s had several breakout games. By far, that first half was one of her best. She had over her averages in the first half with 23 (points) and eight (rebounds). That first half I�ll rank with all of her best games. The second half, though, was not as sharp as the first half. But pretty darn good in the first 20 (minutes).
On the Monarchs keeping the final score respectable:
Sacramento showed some pride. (Hamchetou) Maiga came in and gave them great minutes off the bench. It�s a great win. Sacramento is never going to quit. They take pride in winning ugly, as they say, and they made a nice surge in the second half. It�s a dangerous team. And they know with their defense they can get themselves back in the game.
On the Storm scoring 75 on a quality defensive team:
We had pretty good offensive execution until the last 10 or 12 minutes. I think Lauren hitting those first three threes helped us get a cushion, and all of a sudden they had to spread things out rather than pack it in. I thought our execution was really good. We kept our spacing, which was our goal against them, and managed to get the ball inside to Lauren, which we didn�t do in Sacramento.
On how to beat the Monarchs defense:
Sacramento feels real different than most everybody in the league, just because their style is so different. You�ve got to stay mentally sharp to beat that defense. That�s what happened in the second half. We got up by 30 and we weren�t as sharp mentally.
On Sacramento's difficulty defending Jackson:
They came with different people to try to guard Lauren and couldn�t really find anybody to shut her down. What do you do with Lauren Jackson? I think we�re good enough from the perimeter. Sue Bird had a great game, so if Lauren is double- or triple-teamed down there, there is someone on the perimeter that can take advantage of that.
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On her first-half performance:
It wasn�t my perfect game. It was a good game, it wasn�t great, though. I can do better.
On the Storm's league-best performance this season:
I�m enjoying (this season), really, a lot - the competitiveness, the fun. It�s just been really energetic out there and fun. I�m really enjoying the team right now. I�m happy.
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On Jackson setting the tone:
For sure. Once she hit that first one and the second, I was like, 'Uh oh, keep getting her the ball.' When she is like that, you really just want to feed her, because she is like a machine down there. When she�s able to score like that, she smells blood and gets after it.
On the refereeing:
The refs are something you can�t control. They�re either going to call a lot of fouls or not call it at all. They�re going to call a good game or a bad game, and you really can�t control it. You just have to roll with the punches.
On Sacramento playing hard:
At no point did I think they were going to take it from us. At one point I looked up and we were up 30. It didn�t even feel like it. They kept attacking.
On why the Storm has picked it up again:
I really believe you play the way you practice and we�re proving it this season.
SACRAMENTO COACH JOHN WHISENANT:
On the game:
We gave up 49 points in the first half and 26 in the second - our goal is to keep people under 30 a half and we were way off in the first half. We cooled them down (shooting) from the first to the second half, but on the other hand, we must�ve missed five or six layups. That�s what happens once you get behind - if you�re the team where everything is going in, the basket looks like big dishtub, and if you�re behind, trying to catch up, it looks like it�s about the size of a grapefruit.
On the missed layups:
There in the second half, we missed five layups in the first five minutes - our assistants were keeping track. They weren�t really contested, just simple shots. That 10 points could�ve made Seattle tighten up, but again it goes back to the first half defensively � we just weren�t able to stop them when we give up that many points. We�re a team that has to hold an opponent to the high 50s or low 60s to win. We just aren�t offensively gifted enough to allow people to score 49 points in one half.
On the Storm:
This is a very gifted team. Lauren Jackson started out hot. We did three defensive helps on their pick and roll with Jackson and Bird and did things we never practice, giving (Jackson) wide open threes and she made them all. That got them off to a 9-0 start and we were playing catch up from then on.
But we never quit, we played down to the wire. The last 10 minutes of the game, we were playing pretty good defensively, but we obviously struggled offensively.
On the defensive breakdown:
Well, you have to give Seattle credit. We�ve been playing well defensively for the last five games. We have no fatigue excuses here, so that wasn�t a factor. They just played well. They were ready to go and attacked us. Certainly, give them a lot of credit for their preparation. Their coaching staff obviously had a plan to come out and attack our defense. But our defense had several breakdowns. We never got them back on their heels defensively.
On DeMya Walker's defense on Jackson:
DeMya has covered her very well several times. Lauren Jackson is not somebody you stop - you just kind of slow her down. The second half, she wasn�t quite as good, scoring just nine points. If you hold her to nine points a half, you�ve done a heck of job. If we would�ve done that in both halves � but that�s why she�s the MVP. They have the best player in the league right there. And they�re a good team - they�re leading the WNBA for a reason.
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On the game:
If one person breaks down (defensively), it affects everyone else. But this is their home court and they haven�t lost here much. They made a lot of shots from the outside and it was just their night. We just have to bounce back and get ready for New York. That�s all we can do right now. It�s deflating, but we have to bounce back and be ready. We know New York just fired their coach and is going to be fired up, especially after losing to us this week. We have to figure out what went wrong and go from there.
On the bench's performance:
Anytime you have a game when the starters aren�t doing it, it gives (the reserves) an opportunity to come into the game. Maiga did an outstanding job. We have a good team. Our starting five and our players coming off the bench are all good. (The reserves) made a run. It happens - some games you�re on, some you�re not.
Notes: