San Antonio Stars vs. Los Angeles Sparks

Published on September 1, 2016 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
San Antonio Stars News Release


POSTGAME NOTES:

- Jayne Appel-Marinelli led the team with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Appel-Marinelli has led the team in rebounds 7 times, scoring twice and recorded 3-plus blocks in five games this season.

- Astou Ndour scored 11 points - her third consecutive game to score in double figures. Since returning from the Olympic Break, Ndour has reached double figures in three of the Star's four games.

- Moriah Jefferson scored 10 points - the 12th consecutive time to score in double figures. The streak dates back to July 1 at Indiana when she scored a career-high 31 points.

- The Los Angeles Sparks are now 6-0 when 4+ players score in double figures.

- Tonight's game marked Jantel Lavender's 166th consecutive Sparks game.

- Kristi Toliver scored 21 points - her 4th 20+ point game this season.

POSTGAME QUOTES:

Stars Head Coach Dan Hughes:

(On tonight's game...)

"We really battled being shorthanded. If you had told me going into the fourth quarter it'd be tied, I would've said, 'home run'. That was the thinking - get us to halftime and have the lead, then the third quarter and that'll shorten the game and then you finish it, but it's just one of those things where we were able to control the paint a bit on a pretty good team and it gave us a chance. I thought our effort was great. In our situation, they really battled."

(On how the injuries have affected the team..."

"It's frustrating because what if you had Danielle Robinson and Kayla McBride - those type of pieces as well with what's going on. We probably played our best basketball game at Washington, but couldn't turn around and put the same team on the court. But that's basketball. That's the way you have to roll sometimes."

(On the play of the rookies...)

"Astou has gotten better. You really saw it in the Olympics. The Olympics gave her confidence and we had kind of seen it, and now she's carrying it right over into this final section of the season - same way with Jazmon (Gwathmey). Jaz wasn't playing any minutes at the beginning of the year. And Moriah (Jefferson), God bless her. She's got the heart of a lion. She wants to be on the court, period. The young ones are getting some valuable experience, but we all want that valuable experience to lead to where we get more points than they do. They've been a good practice group. They've had character and it's going to pay off."

Stars Center Jayne Appel-Marinelli

(On tonight's game plan...)

"I think we said this last game, only five people can play on the floor. You just kind of have to keep that in the back of your head and when you're on the floor, go as hard as possible. Know that you're playing for your teammates who are out and they want to be out there. Just find a way, really."

(On the Sparks' 9-0 run...)

"(Jantel) Lavender kept hitting those shots! A little (fatigue), but they just hit some shots and we needed to keep getting the stops that we needed but at some point the tires get a little slower and you just kind of have to keep chugging along, but we're right there. I'm sure Coach (Hughes) will say we're not one for moral victories, and it's definitely not that, but it's good to see us up there. It's good to see us fighting until the last minute and a half. It makes the game a good thing to be a part of."

(On Mental Health Awareness Night...)

"It's great. It's the first in the NBA, the WNBA and really the first of its kind. So to have it be here in San Antonio, a military town, where I'm sure a lot of people are affected from PTSD from their service, I think it's important. I think it's going to really roll over into both leagues and become a thing that society starts to talk about."

Stars Guard Moriah Jefferson

(On tonight's game...)

"I thought we were going to come out and fight. No matter what happens, you've got to respect the vets and I believe in my team so we played extremely hard. It's unfortunate we didn't get the win, but I'm still very proud of us."

(On the pressure of playing with a thin team...)

"Honestly, when you're out there, you're not even thinking about it. You're playing basketball and when you're on the court, you can only have five people anyways. It's going to be five-on-five no matter how many players we have so we're just going to go out and focus on who we have on the court and play as hard as we can."

Sparks Head Coach Brian Agler:

(On if he would characterize the game as a "grinder"...)

"No question about it. Like we said in the locker room, every game is going to be like that the rest of the way. The regular season, playoffs, everybody is fighting hard. It was nice to see us get a little bit of offensive rhythm late in the game, but I was more impressed with some of our defensive stops at the end of the third quarter going into the fourth quarter."

(On defending the Stars...)

"They have some people that are really tough to defend in pick and roll. Moriah Jefferson, Colson, and then they have a couple of wing players that are tough to defend on screens away from the ball, Currie, Gwathmey. But like I told them, you just got to fight hard and stay and play with people, make it difficult. They're going to get a couple of shots, but every time you got to be right there. I was happy with how we played."

Sparks Guard Kristi Toliver:

(On if they are working harder to get wins later in the season...)

"We're deep into the season. Everybody has practice, everybody learns, everybody watches film, everybody is fighting for spots. It's not going to be easy. Not to say it was easy before, but as seasons go along you have to grind, and we understand that but we still know we're the same talented team as before. People know that, so they know that they need to come out strong against us and we just have to finish strong."

(On their fourth quarter defense...)

"Yeah, we made plays. We also went big, so we were able to switch a lot. We kept people in front; contested shots and they didn't go in. So when you do that, the game comes pretty simple and you hold them to one field goal."

Sparks Forward Nneka Ogwumike:

(On if defense won them the game...)

"Oh yeah, absolutely. I'm proud of my team. We were able to come out here and be aggressive. The first half wasn't as sharp as we wanted it to be, but we came out in the second and we contained them."

(On if teams are playing them harder near the end of the season...)

"It's mostly on us, but a lot of teams are fighting for their playoff lives, so I think that we have to understand that each game is going to be a grind. I thought our defensive intensity was good, we just have to kind of take care of stuff on offense."

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