Monarchs notes and quotes

Published on June 25, 2005 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Sacramento Monarchs News Release


Monarchs Quotes Monarchs Coach John Whisenant:

I just told my team I wish I had something I could put my finger on. We only scored eight points in the last eight minutes. We scored 19 points in the second half. Nicole has been our best shooter so far. Offensively we did poorly. We only scored 50 points. I wasn't totally happy with our defense either. We gave up a lot of points. For the most part I think we were just frustrated and we needed to make some shots. We got some good looks that we just couldn't make. The more frustrated we got the quicker we shot. The more out-of-sink we were offensively. We just have to wake up tomorrow and try to correct it. Fly across the country and play a team that is on a hot streak themselves. I look back at our practice this week. We worked on our offense and tried to break it down. Whatever we did didn't work. We were awful.

Monarchs Forward Nicole Powell:

It was the worst performance ever. Bottom line it was not pretty. At this point I just have to get ready for Washington. We had too many turnovers. We were trying to make plays happen. We just couldn't get it back tonight after the second half. I had some really good looks and you just have to keep shooting. The team counts on you to do that. I was hoping to get some shots in the second half but that didn't happen. We have a lot of games to still prepare for.

On playing Connecticut again...

We will see them again and we need to be ready.

Monarchs Center Yolanda Griffith:

There are some things that we have to work on. We have to work on our offense. We need to get our shooters open and not have so many turnovers. We need to focus on Washington. We weren't executing offensively. We didn't have anything tonight, offensively or defensively. Offensively we have to work harder. We have to throw the ball quicker and then I think we will be ok. We have to put this game behind us as individuals.

Sun Quotes Head Coach Mike Thibault

(Coach will miss game versus Phoenix due to death of his mother. He will return to the team on Tuesday.)

Thoughts on his team's performance:

It was nice to win a game like this when you don't shoot well and your offense and defense carries you.

On Sacramento holding Connecticut to a season-low in points:

They play really tight defense. We have to be able to move and reverse the ball. We kind of played into their hands in the first half. In the second half we got better spacing and we were able to move the basketball better. Our defense triggered a bunch of fast breaks in a row. If we play that type of defense we are hard to beat.

On whether his team played harder because of the coach's loss in the family:

I think they should be playing that hard for themselves. They know this meant a lot to me, but I want them to win for them. They don't need to win games for me. They need to win games for themselves.

On the Sun's success in the second half:

We played defense with a different lineup. We played a small, quicker lineup. We tried to match up on quickness and make it hard for them on the other end. Our bench just gave us a huge lift.

On Yolanda Griffith's impact on the league:

You talk about one of the foundations of this league. I admire her so much for her professionalism and class and how good of a player she has been. I just think she is a class act. We have to work very hard every time we play against her.

Guard Lindsay Whalen

On the death of their coach's mother:

We feel like we're a family. Anytime you have a member who has had something happen in their lives, you definitely rally around it. There was a lot of heart in it. We definitely feel for coach and his family.

On the second half run:

It was all defense. For one of the first times this year I thought our defense had a spark to it. We were tired, it's been a long round trip, but we just gutted it out. We were gritty. These wins are wins that we almost like better than a game where everything comes easy. You find out a lot about your team and you look into your teammates' eyes and you see a lot of heart.

Center Margo Dydek

On her team's performance:

We recognized before the game that it was a big game for us because we had the same record as Sacramento. It was the best in the East versus the best in the West. We recognized the importance of this game and played hard.

Forward Taj McWilliams-Franklin

Thoughts on the game:

It was like a playoff atmosphere. I think in Seattle we gave in and wanted someone to give us something. I think this game we just took it.

On holding Sacramento to 19 points in the second half:

That's amazing. That's big time for us. We normally just outscore people. We don't normally shut people down like that.

Forward Nykesha Sales

Thoughts on the game:

I think we had a slow start. We picked up the intensity a little bit in the second half. Sometimes we have a way about us where we come out slow. When we pick it up and get up and down the floor it's hard to stay with us.

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 25, 2005


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