Mystics and Sting postgame quotes
Published on June 15, 2006 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) News Release
Mystics Head Coach Richie Adubato
(On the game)
"We got great contribution from our bench. Laurie Koehn, who is a very pure shooter, came in and turned the game around going 4-4 and 3-3 on three pointers totaling to 11 points. Coco Miller off the bench played well, [Nakia] Sanford off the bench played well, but then I thought DeLisha Milton-Jones showed a lot of heart since she was banged up, but got 17 points and 10 rebounds. [Chasity] Melivn was solid and [Nikki] Teasley ran the show for us by hitting the three's and getting five assists while giving up only one turnover. All in all we had a great effort from our bench and the rest of the team, but again they (Sting) were shorthanded. They didn't have their center [Tammy] Sutton-Brown and didn't have their point guard [Helen] Darling who put a lot of pressure on the ball and causes a lot of problems. So we have caught them twice and gotten really lucky."
(On outscoring the Sting 35-17 in the 3rd Quarter)
"We tried to push the ball more and then we just really heated up offensively. When you shoot the ball as well as we did in the second half, you're probably going to beat most people. "
Sting Head Coach Muggsy Bogues
(On the game)
"Once again, it was the second half. The third quarter continues to be the Achilles heel for us. They just took advantage of us inside. We had no inside presence tonight. We couldn't keep them off the rebounds; they outrebounded us by a total of 14. We didn't turn the ball over; we only had 15 turnovers tonight. But for some reason, they still got 25 points off that. We can't allow the entire team to shoot 50 percent from the field. All of the players shot 50 percent besides Alana Beard. It just can't happen. We've got to come out ready to play, focusing and paying attention to detail. We only played 20 minutes of basketball tonight, not a total of 40."
(On the defensive problems)
"You've got to understand personnel. We have a game plan every time out. For some reason, people continue to keep getting mixed up with what they are supposed to do. You've got to know who the shooters are, and that's not hard to figure out. They did a great job in the first half. Everything was on par, and everyone was in-tune with everything. They were calling out the switch, fighting through screens and boxing out. It allowed us to play our game. For some reason in the second half we just weren't able to sustain it."
(On the team)
"We've got to find a leader. We've got to find someone who is going to put the team on her shoulders. Everybody should want to become a leader. Things aren't going well for us right now, so we need everybody collectively in it. Everyone's got to understand what we are trying to accomplish, and we've got to work as a committee. LaToya (Bond) did a good job today of running the basketball and running the team. She only had two turnovers tonight. When you look at that line, it looks like it was a pretty good day. For some reason, no one continued playing aggressive basketball. We've got to have some people take some pride on the defensive end, and be able to get a stop when we need it."
(On the frustration of losing two in a row following a win)
"When you take a couple of steps forward, we'd like to continue taking those steps. We took a couple of giant steps backward in the past two games. Unfortunately for us, we also have some injuries. Just when we felt like we were ready to turn that corner and we were starting to get some good play out of our starters and veterans, we had injuries to Helen (Darling) and Tammy (Sutton-Brown). Helen was starting to play a lot better. She was running the team pretty well. Tammy was starting to get into a flow. She had a huge inside presence against Indiana on Friday. We started out in Washington with some good intensity, but unfortunately for us they got injured. But we can't make excuses. We still have to have players step up. This is what the professional game is all about. When your number is called, you've got to produce. We aren't doing that."
Guard LaToya Bond (14 points, 3 assists)
(On stepping into a starting role for the first time in the season)
"It was a great opportunity. We had two players down, so I just wanted to step in and lead and control the team and get a victory."
(On what Washington did differently in the second half)
"They didn't necessarily do anything differently, we just didn't come out and play the way we did in the first half. That's been a problem for us all season. We just have to work on that."
Center Janel McCarville (11 points, 2 rebounds)
(On stepping into a starting role for the first time in the season)
"Unfortunately, I had to step in because we had two key players (Helen Darling and Tammy Sutton-Brown) out with injuries. I felt like I had to make the most of it, and use that to my advantage. I hoped to help the team the best way possible."
(On what Washington did differently in the second half)
"They always come out hard in the second half. As of late, we haven't been coming out with the best we have. We just have to clean some things up a little bit and I think we will be alright. We can hang with some of the best teams in the league during the first half, but coming out of halftime something just doesn't click with us. We just have to figure out what that is and eliminate it."
Mystics Guard Alana Beard
(On beating the Sting in back-to-back games)
"We really focused defensively in those two games. We came together as a group and we executed offensively. I feel those three things combined helped us come out to beat the Sting back-to-back."
(On the importance of a road win)
"It's good to get a road win for us because we haven't had one. The Sting beat us in our first road game and then Indiana and Connecticut beat us also. It's just good for our confidence to get a road win. You have got to get road wins to be a championship team."
Mystics Guard Nikki Teasley
(On her 17-point performance)
"For me I try to take what the defense gives me. A lot of time people look for me to pass but my shot has been available. My team has been doing a great job setting picks and getting me open for easy looks."
(On the second half of tonight's game)
"We talked about getting down and playing defense. We knew we had to be intense in those last 20 minutes by forcing turnovers. I'm just glad we were able to do that effectively."
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 15, 2006
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