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WNBA Seattle Storm

Minnesota vs. Seattle quotes

August 1, 2006 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Seattle Storm News Release


Minnesota Coach Carolyn Jenkins:

"I'm really proud of my team. I thought that they did a great job this morning. They came out during shootaround (and) just had great energy, just looking to try to get a win and to play well, and they brought that into the game from beginning to the end. We had our opportunities, it's just that our shots didn't fall down the stretch."

"Seattle hit some key shots. Sue had a great game... She hit a big 'three' to tie the game, and then obviously Betty with the 'three' to put them up by three was huge. But again, I look at the little things tonight. I talked to the team about playing for us. Our execution down the stretch in terms of the quality of shots that we got -- whether or not they went in or not -- we put ourselves in the position to be successful, and that's the first step."

"We talked before the game about playing for us and playing loose, and just going out and not putting any pressure on ourselves other than to just go out and try to get better in terms of executing. With our young team, they're still learning how to play together, and any success we can get to give our team more confidence towards the end, the better off we'll be."

"They're professionals. They are doing something that they love. This is a team that really likes playing together. They know that there's great talent here and they have very good team chemistry. They're playing for each other. I think that's the thing that motivates them."

Minnesota Guard Amber Jacobs:

"I'm proud of the team and how we played tonight, but obviously you want to come out with the win... When we had that rough change of coaching staff, I think this core group of girls came together and told each other that we were going to stick together and fight through this. You go through ups and downs, and you have to come out fighting through the downs and overcome the adversity. I feel like that's what this team is all about."

Minnesota Forward Kristen Mann:

"I think we're okay. Obviously we're disappointed that we're not going to the playoffs, but we just have to try to get better... for the rest of the season, and look forward to next year... We'll try to get more than 10 wins. That would be nice. Like I said, we'll just try to get better... Possibly try to be a disturbance for other teams."

"We just have to focus on the now, and what's ahead of us. I think overall our mentality is that we're okay, especially after tonight. We didn't win, but it was a good... I thought we played really well. None of us are disappointed over the fact that we lost. We gained some confidence tonight."

Minnesota Guard Seimone Augustus:

"Any time you get an opportunity to represent your country in a big game like that is always great. Especially to play alongside players like Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson -- basically all the players who paved the way -- is always a great opportunity."

"Definitely more comfortable now that I've gotten to know them and know what they expect. I know that once we get to training camp, they're going to expect us to gel together and go and get ready to win... I'm with the Minnesota Lynx right now... Once this season is over, I'll put my focus on USA Basketball."

Seattle Coach Anne Donovan:

"That was a big shot, but everybody in Seattle knows that Betty Lennox can make those shots... She's had I don't know how many game-winners in her career for Seattle. When the game's on the line, you can always go back to Betty. although we didn't run the play for Betty, she's always a threat on the court. That was a huge 'three' by Betty, but equally as impressive was Izzy's presence of mind to get into the paint and draw people and then make the perfect pass to Betty. Both pieces of that play were pretty special."

"To me it was very frustrating to see, and that's what I just expressed, was that looking out there you couldn't clearly see which team was fighting for fourth place -- and that was very frustrating to me. Minnesota doesn't play with any pressure on them tonight, but I thought we would grasp the game better than we did and not wait until the last two minutes and try to really secure a win."

"We talked to (Bird) during the second timeout about her having to get going. If Sue doesn't get aggressive, which she did about the six-minute mark, this game is a different story. She all of a sudden made people guard her up top on the ball screens, and that opened things up for other people. She didn't start out the game that way, but when she did, the game changed and all of a sudden we were in the hunt."

"(Augustus) is special. To be a rookie and scoring as well and easily as she is in this league, she's just a very special offensive player. Today she was named to the USA Basketball program for our World Championship team, and that's a real pleasant addition for us."

Seattle Guard Betty Lennox:

"God answered my prayers. That's all I can say."

"We most definitely didn't look like the team that was more hungry to win it. I think the Lynx looked like they wanted it a little more than we did, but that's just how our focus has been all season -- up and down, up and down -- and it was down tonight. We have to try our best with the last five games we have left to focus on that particular game and that particular situation. Tonight we didn't. We only focused for like the last two minutes, and that almost cost us the game."

"Our focus is just not there, for whatever reason. We just have to get that back and realize that we're not out of this. I think at times our focus looked like we were out, but we're really not out. We know we're not out, but our focus looked like that."

Seattle Forward Lauren Jackson:

"I think we're feeling a little emotionally drained at the moment. We've had so many injuries and adversity to deal with. At the moment, we've got to come out every game like we did against L.A. and just play with that intense, fiery passion. Tonight we didn't have that. And it wasn't a bad game, but when you're up to the playoffs, it's not the sort of game that we would want to play. I think we've learned from this game that we're good enough to be able to play like that and still win. That's not bad. That's pretty good, but we know what we've got to do."

Seattle Guard Sue Bird:

"I definitely have to be aggressive offensively. I know coach is always -- it's like a broken record at this point -- telling me to be more aggressive and look for my shot. And when I'm making them like I was tonight, it opened things up for everybody so I was just able to play. It was fun just being aggressive and playing."

"I know that this wasn't one of our best games in terms of the energy and the wanting to win, but we did pull it out. And I think there's something to be said for that. Obviously, Betty's shot was huge for us. We needed it. But I think we also had some big possessions defensively where we got stops when we needed it. Especially when pretty much the entire game they were scoring whenever they wanted. And so for us to kind of lock down at the end, I think, was good. But I've always said this: I think championship teams are teams that can win when things aren't going their way, when they're not playing well, and that's what we did tonight."

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