(On The Game) Well, we got a long way to go. We gave up too many points, not taking anything away from Chicago, but a team that has just been put together should not score that many points on our home court. We cannot allow that. We can’t turn the basketball over 27 times. It’s fortunate we were in the basketball game, they scored 31 points out of 83 on our turnovers. We did a good job on the offensive rebounds, a better job than in the past. But bottom line, the moral of this story is too many turnovers.
(On fourth Quarter Comeback) They showed capability. They must understand that they need to start from the beginning and not wait until the fourth quarter. We scored 30 points in the fourth quarter, and they realized that they had to play basketball. We need to learn how to play basketball from the tipoff. We go over so much in practice about what we need to do, but at gametime it is a whole new ballgame. We have to continue to stress detail.
(On Foul Call in the fourth quarter) It was tough. The ladies fought so hard to put themselves in position, and to have it taken away that quickly was devastating. But we have to keep fighting, keep playing, keep understanding the task at hand. We have 33 games to go, and we can’t get hung up on this one. We have a tough game coming up on Tuesday(against the Sparks) and we need to get ready for that one.
(On LaToya Bond) The more playing time she gets, the more comfortable she will become. She was nervous at the beginning and her turnovers and lack of aggression indicated that, but as time went on and she got a feel for it, she started to play basketball. That’s something she needs to do once she steps on the floor, and I have to continue to push her in that area.
(On Turnovers) I mean, it wasn’t anything that they were doing defensively. We just were throwing it in their hands, rushing, not being patient enough to work and execute. We literally would throw it in their hands. It wasn’t like they were pressuring us or trapping us, or we couldn’t see what was going on, it was blatantly thrown in their hands. We have to protect the basketball much better than we did tonight.
(On coaching against his former Hornets Coach Dave Cowens) I didn’t give it much thought. It’s just a few of us (former NBA players) crossing over and getting our feet wet. It’s good to see former NBA players spending the time teaching and coaching in the WNBA. I think it is beneficial. The game has changed with a lot of us on the sidelines. We have similar philosophies and love the NBA game, and we are trying to implement it in the WNBA. That’s what professional basketball is all about.
(On Getting Better On Defense) We need to contain, we need to trust each other. There is too much guessing going on. We had too many missed assignments. In the second half and third quarter, we didn’t have any energy. We need to stop people.
INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM
Sting forward Sheri Sam
(On the game) There was no pressure, and we have to take care of the ball. With 27 turnovers, we’re not going to beat a high school team if we turn the ball over like that. We were coughing the ball up and it cost us the game. We were on our home court, and there was no crowd against us so it should have come easy. We finally got back into a battle there in the end but we should have never been that deep in the hole to begin with.
Sting guard LaToya Bond
(On the game) The several three-pointers that we hit down the stretch were part of all of us just motivating each other and pumping ourselves us and believing that it wasn’t too late to come back. We just have to keep playing hard and believing that we can win no matter what the score is.
Sting guard Kelly Mazzante
(On the game) This season coach has wanted me to be more offensive minded and my teammates have really put in a lot of effort in getting me good screens to get an open look. I just have to keep pulling it and pulling it and shoot to score for the team. I am continuing to try to hit the open shot as well as create things on the defensive end as a player coming off the bench. I just want to come off the bench and give the team everything I have on both ends of the court.
