WNBA Minnesota Lynx

Minnesota postgame quotes

Published on July 27, 2006 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Minnesota Lynx News Release


Minnesota Coach Carolyn Jenkins:

"In the second half, we came out flat. Obviously we showed signs of life, showed some sparks. We knew that we were playing a team twice in the same week, and we knew they were going to remember what we did to them down there. They have some confidence on their team... Regardless of where they are in the standings, they have some pretty big pride and some pretty good talent."

"I think Vanessa's been working really hard trying to improve here down the stretch, and she displayed that tonight on both ends. That was a bright spot for us tonight... They stepped up defensively. That was indicative by how many turnovers we had. They pressured us early, and the more the game went on, the more pressure they put on. It was just successful for them. We have to get better at adjusting to what the other team does."

"We have to get better, obviously. We're still trying to focus on what we need to do defensively, and it's not going to happen overnight... We still have a lot of kinks to work out. We had a lot of unforced turnovers tonight... We'll get better. We'll try to improve on both ends of the floor and go from there."

"We can't worry about what we can't control. We are here at that time... Between now and Sunday (at New York), we'll have one practice. This is the experience. Regardless of where we are right now or where we end up, this team is going to grow from this experience, and we'll get better."

Minnesota Center Vanessa Hayden:

"They made a run. You have to give them the credit, but also say we made some mental breakdowns. I got a flagrant. That definitely helped the pace of the game. It's just something that gave them fire and took something out of us."

"I think with the new system, I feel a lot more comfortable. I feel a lot more confident. It's just that. I've got something in me, I don't know if it's fire or what, but I want to work hard for this woman and I want to win... I just felt like a new me and I've been feeling like that for a couple days. I think it's just a confidence factor, having confidence in me and letting me know that, 'I believe in you.' And that's pretty much it."

"It's still that feeling. A new beginning, a fresh start. We've got a clean slate. Let's just go out and do what we can in these last 11 games. That's our focus. Focus on these last ones, not on the past games. This game is behind us. We're going to focus on Chicago tomorrow night. We've got 10 games in 19 days. It's a new system."

"I'm a realist and I'll tell you like I tell everybody else. Do people think we can make the playoffs? Probably not. What are we, 9-16? Do I think we can make the playoffs? I think if we play like we play tough, I think we can... We have to work hard. That next game is in front of us. If we win that one, then we worry about that... If you look at it, you think that's impossible, but after the other day, I have a new confidence. Ask me that on Sunday and I would've told you no. Ask me now? Yeah."

Minnesota Guard Seimone Augustus:

"There's still a sense of a fresh start. We still have some stuff to learn under coach CJ. She put in a couple of new plays. We still have to learn how to play within her system now. I think tonight was a sign of us not knowing the plays as well as we should. Just a lot of unforced turnovers that we had that led to easy buckets for them or just created difficult situations for our defense. I think we still have an opportunity to go into Chicago and find two or three things offensively and be a very effective team."

"I think we were more focused in that game in Charlotte because we knew what we were facing, going on somebody else's home turf. We knew coming into tonight that we had to protect our turf, but we didn't do that. I think our focus was lacking. We didn't have that intensity that we needed, and it showed in the way that we played -- kind of sluggish at times and not consistent throughout the game."

Charlotte Coach Muggsy Bogues:

"The most important thing in the game was the effort, we came out and were really in tune tonight. We didn't feel like we played our best basketball at our place. They came out and played extremely hard and played well and got the victory. We just wanted to come here and just play hard and execute and give ourselves an opportunity to win a ballgame, and we did."

"(Offensive rebounds) have been an Achilles' heel as of late, giving up second opportunities. But tonight -- actually the last week-and-a-half or two weeks -- we've been playing pretty well. We have been trying to emphasize the turnovers as well as the offensive rebounds, and tonight we came out and limited them to one opportunity and took care of the basketball... That was a key factor for us."

Charlotte Forward Tangela Smith:

"There were a lot of fouls being called back and forth. I think it was a very physical game... We just kept fighting to the end and we continued to play aggressive and we stuck together as a team when they made their run. We just kept sticking together."

"I just took my time tonight. Last game I was rushing and trying to shoot too fast. I just calmed down and focused on my shots and took my time... Last game, coach was very mad at us because they outrebounded us so bad, so we practiced by doing a lot of rebounding drills and that was our main focus tonight, trying to outrebound them."

Charlotte Forward Sheri Sam:

"This game keeps us in the hunt. We've got eight games left, so we have just got to keep fighting. It would be awesome to make the playoffs. We just have to keep fighting along with getting some help."

"The way we approached the game was different. Our intensity, ball movement, and the little things that you do to win the game, we did tonight. We started slow and were never able to get going, so now we have to be consistent and carry on until Saturday."

Charlotte Guard Helen Darling:

"It's definitely good to come here and get the win, not so much for me but for the team. Our goal right now is to try and catch Washington and make the playoffs... We were very disappointed at home not to get that win, and even against Phoenix, because those two games would have put us three games away from Washington instead of the five we are behind after tonight... It's not so much revenge, it's instead a game we should've won but we didn't."

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