group and really got you guys going into the second quarter on yeah I think our defense got a lot better especially in transition um and honestly like they just made some threes on us and you know we just kind of pushed through that that part of the game and I thought minus the first six minutes we were really really good um I don't know what they scored out I I think I had 21 at that point when we called timeout and then after that I thought we played pretty good defense so I'm proud of us nobody panicked um we kind of just settled in into the game but we definitely need to get off to a better start kelse see this off almost seems frantic at times watching it from a distance but you all seem to find the focus when the shots start to go how does that Dynamic work that is look like it's just a level 12 but you all maintain it uh I think it's a a matter of our chemistry um we've really taken time as teammates to really get to know each other on and off the on and off the court and I think it serves to what you see now and I think even though it might look a different way to you we've already establish what our chemistry is and how we want to play and I think um for us we got a unbelievable chemistry now to where it's spoken and so you get to see it even if you don't understand it trust me we get it we we understand what's going on Caitlyn you seem to be having a very fun time at the end of that game can you describe kind of your feelings that obviously great shooting great assists the the numbers and and just the exhileration The Joy whatever you were feeling at that moment honestly like I felt like it was like just a smooth game for us like I just felt like we were flowing while out there like it just felt like pretty basketball like and sometimes I think as a basketball player like you can just feel it um I thought that's what we had like I said the first six minutes I thought we played really well and you know this was a big one for us it almost counts towards two when you're in the playoff race of like a loss and a win so um we knew it was a big one but also like we wanted to win the season series with them um that was kind of a focus point and the last time we were here we were up 15 in the fourth quarter and kind of you know fumbled it away so I thought it was another opportunity for us to come in here and show what we're about and I thought we were really good and um honestly like I just had a lot of fun playing like I thought we played with a lot of joy we played at uptempo we shared the ball well um I thought tamy was really good especially defensively when she came in and um that was fun for me to see Kaylin you mentioned the playoffs um this moves you guys up to sixth uh how important is that especially knowing the stretch that you have coming up I think you only have three games against teams with winning records yeah I mean I think you can't really look at a team's record at this point in the year I think uh you're seeing teams play really well like I think I just heard the wings beat the links the other night Sparks beat the Liberty like it doesn't really matter A team's record at this Point everybody's fighting for something and fighting for a playoff birth fighting for seating or positioning so it doesn't really matter you better come into every single game um with the mentality of to win and I think our group has done a really good job of taking it one game at a time and um it's honestly impressive how we started the season and now sitting at sixth place with eight games remaining nine games remaining whatever it is um but you know you have to continue to execute down the stretch and lucky for us we have quite a few of those at home and we've been playing playing really well at home so using that to our advantage will be important as well where you guys like you said you started the season did you have faith you would get to this point you know maybe after you guys played together and have bre yeah I mean I certainly did I think I remember saying early in the season like I know there's going to be a moment where we look back on this in the season later in the season and be like you know this one in eight start is like going to help us somewhere down the line and I think this is now that moment um did it stink absolutely like it was not fun um you know I was I was frustrated everybody was frustrated um you know fans were probably frustrated but at the same time like we have a young group we're trying to learn we're trying to figure out and it's a tough transition you know coming from college and then trying to come in here and lead a professional basketball team and be their point guard so um I'm just really thankful for my teammates that like just stuck with me and you know have helped make the transition easy and learning one another and I think once we've really figured it out it's been a lot of fun for everybody on this team um Kelsey this is the first time you guys have been 500 since started 2 and two in 2022 just for you what does it mean to kind of be part of this rebuild and kind of see it these past couple years uh kind of give yourself some Grace uh about you know where I started as a as a player and where the F organization was and where it is now um you go to appreciate you know the evolution of the game um the players that came in it um people like C squ even like you know this group that draft class that came out you know they taken really good leaps at making teams better and I think square has done that for us and I think now it's about focused on taking me to the next step and I look forward to that Journey yeah sorry um to go off that if the message against Connecticut was that you guys weren't going to be bullied weren't going to be pushed around what was the message tonight I mean just to come in here like 20 points the way that you did uh obviously keep the main thing the main thing um we knew that uh Chicago had a lot of like up and down as far as you know their roster and who was planning who wasn't that thing for us was about keeping the main thing the main thing and stay focused on that and this game was about rebounding um you know we all kind of like said it and I think we had that Focus especially with players like Angel and so get them off the glass and their run and so I think that Focus kind of maintained throughout the course of the 40 minutes