Postgame Media Availability | August 24, 2024

to back have Olivia Nelson DOTA and D boner taking questions in the room and then on Zoom TB how big is it to get a win against these guys they over this year and last year um yeah it was huge it was huge for for us and our locker room but uh they're a great team they the number one team for a reason but uh I'm proud of our team we had a lot to figure out in our locker room we had a huge mebody know we had a huge trade and uh things changed so for us to come together like that and get a win like this is is huge and we had great you know play Off the Bench so that helped us a lot both both what what turnning around for after first quarter obviously um you know they got they got out pretty they got fre fast just stay the course you know second second half that I don't know if you you watch our games but we are not a first quarter team I think we get our in the whole every single time and uh I don't know if we train oursel not to Panic it's a lot of ball game us and we just kind of figure out on the fly but like I said Liv and Marina came in and gave us a huge spark and I think that kind of got us going uh off the m so uh credit to them especially Liv because we literally stay on her head so performance tonight um you know just being able to come in and provide provide that Bo tonight in a key game like this especially on the back to back yeah I mean um I think our starting five does so much especially just logging in so many minutes um so I think the mentality not just myself but the bench is just trying to go in and contribute in any way that we can um and I also credit my teammates for also putting me into good positions too um to just kind of you know get going a little bit tonight um but like DB keeps emphasizing like we're not satisfied with this win we're not satisfied with just this performance we still got a long way to go um and then just finishing out the season in the right way and then prepare for playoffs Dan can you talk about what having Marina has me to this team especially at this point in the season man uh she's she's a dog she's just someone that came into our team and we didn't have to slow down feel like we haven't missed the beat um we asked a lot for her she was coming in in a starting role and now coming off the bench which has been really really huge for us and she's just taking that role on with uh so much pride and it's just kind of you don't have to slow down you don't have to teach her anything she just kind of fits right in with our system which is a good thing it's not like we're starting over um yeah we're lucky to have her we're lucky to get her and uh excited to see where this season goes with her and you know it kind of just takes the pressure off everybody else because you have somebody you can just put the ball in their hands and you don't have to worry you know so um yeah I'm just honored to be your teammate honestly it seemed like it seemed like yell a lot more physically you a lot more into it energetically than New York was were you surprised by that especially like said tailing back to back that's um that's just how we play I think I think we're a physical team anyway I think that's what our identity is and that's what we preach and practice and I don't think it it was a surprise um I don't know about them but in our locker room that's what we preach just to come out energetic and physical also want specifically is is there something about the Liberty that you reading in the back court you had a few especially in the fourth quar those back court steals when they try to hit the outlet I can't tell you my secret sorry just for you obviously the night night you mentioned part your teammates was there anything else that you felt was working for you in particular offensively seemed like you were really you know battling the post position quite effectively against some really great players um I credit that to my coaches um the coaching staff just from like the work we've been putting in even in the break and just having that time to kind of break down our offense a little bit more have more practice time get more reps in get used to playing with each other so I definitely credit that and just that understanding um to the coaching staff last question yeah um this is for for both of you this is a non basketball question from this game okay um the obviously one of the big things about the WB sh been the the toone fits and how people look forward to that how cool is it to to know that you are a part of something that's so eagly anticipated that's the first part and then the second part uh is there any specific mindset that goes into like you know when I'm aware to the game or anything like that I'm let live after that this is all this is a question for I think it's honestly really cool just to have that kind of self-expression and you know kind of show the world and who's watching and stuff kind how you dress and how you really just want to express yourself um but I think it's just just a fun element to add I think there's so many things to highlight not only basketball wise with W but off the court too and so that's just one of those ways where I think it's really cool for the fans to see how players just show themselves thank you taking questions on Zoom Michael go ahead yeah just uh for danana um you guys are very close to clinching the playoffs now I think if if Indiana Falls tonight it's definitely clinched either way you're you're very close to it I just wonder if um I know your goal is beyond just being in the playoffs but just the success you've had throughout your career in playing in the postseason and and what it still means to you to to accomplish that um of course it's a huge accomplishment um to put you know keep that on my resume but we all know playoffs is a whole different season it's a different be so uh we'll cross that bridge when we get to it but um I don't I don't even think we're focused on clinching I just think we're Focus taking on game taking it by game by game because like I said there so many changes happened to our team there's a lot going on with our team and uh we just kind of trying to figure out in the locker room and uh just buying into each other right now thank you Emily Liv you've been really consistent ever since the Olympic Break um I mean just is there something you feel like during that time that you really worked on or or were able to to kind of specifically improve um umuse me sorry um I kind of touched on it earlier just with that using that break to work with the coaches and like how they're breaking down our offense things on defense just any type of small details that we kind of need to work on as a team um so I think it was just you know two really good weeks of putting in work with my whole team you know just a couple hours in the gym and really honing in those small details and just trying to get better at those all right uh taking a blade hey ladies this is Blakes B from Blakes taking WNBA swish the U ladies held the Liberty to 37% from the field and under 70 points they scored 64 for the game what did y'all do defensively this game than in other previous games again um that's a good question I don't know I think we just kind of bought in and locked in uh defensively uh they're in the number one team for a reason they were on the but eight seven eight game winning streak for a reason they shoot the ball really really well and um we just kind of needed to clean up and pay attention to more detail with them um shooting the three is their MO so we wanted to make sure we defended that a little bit better this time but it's a lot of goes into New York they're well or machine so any disruption that we can get and just being aggressive is kind of what we uh try to do thank you danana last question from George uh my question is for danana uh danana you've had a long career in the WNBA with a lot of except except sorry what you say I said tell me about it yeah so long career in the WNBA but just think about this week playing at the Boston Garden an edge out win last night going into the top team's house the next night and getting a a win and a double double just in terms of recent memory where does this week rank in terms of just success and enjoyment in terms of playing in this league um I think just playing at the gardien kind of takes the cave for us um it's something that we was looking forward to the whole season and you know Celtics won a championship there so to get a little bit of that Championship energy but the way we sold out in those crowds man it was it was amazing we did not think it was going to be that uh crazy and and it's funny because I didn't start that game so I actually got to sit down and like take it all in and I'm like man um I was in the league when it was five people in the stands and now we're looking at 19,000 and something that um I could say that I helped build in Connecticut to get that crowd and to experience exp erience it with my teammates and um I don't know it was really really special to us so I think that's going to go down in one of my top history my top memories in history because uh man that was amazing um it was kind of hard to play that game I was telling Alex just being there the energy um and Alissa was walking down the street to get a smoothie and we can barely make it to the Smoothie um place because it's like every five seconds somebody was stopping us to take a picture or you know say like good luck we'll be at the game and the the energy and the Feld was just totally different and it's something that I would hold to my heart forever thank you ladies shout out to Alex of trying to get them you know into the shots that we wanted them to take when we had breakdowns we quickly REM remedied them um we played with multiple levels of effort so when we had to scramble we we continued to to to make effort to make hustle plays and contest shots and finish plays and and we made big plays offensively when we needed to and you know getting getting the production we got from the bench was was big for us we're going to continue to need that you said you're how part of of the the training staff and strength conditioning staff that you know came out just make it look like the Liberty with the other with the team on the back to back yeah I mean you know I for us it's um you know it's it's a mindset it's more of a mentality you know these these these players this is what they do you know they certainly understand how to prepare themselves to to play in these ball games um you know especially because they played a lot of minutes last night you know they played a lot of minutes against La um you know this is our fourth game this week and and for DB played 35 minutes in this game I think she played 36 you know yesterday at 37 years old I mean it's incredible you know what she's prepared herself to be able to do and um you know her ability to to get defensive for us was huge you know won the game for us and so um you know it's it's a mindset and I think our team came with it tonight Steph could you also say that that trade helped you win the game and Marina was great up both the floor it took a huge charge on JJ I think obviously offensively was was productive absolutely um you know Marina not only does she give us a shop maker um but the spacing on the floor is totally different with her on the floor you know having another score having someone else that we can we can run in action whether it's on ball or offall um you know have now we have have two people that they have to guard in those with DB and Marina in those off ball actions and so it allows us to do so much more offensively um and and she's a she's a big shot maker you know she's somebody that the end of the clock can get a shot up um she Embraces the moment and and yeah that that charge was huge they were making a run and that that was a big time play um obviously a big game for live tonight um she mentioned that over the break she worked a lot on just different things coaching staff um you feel like there's anything specific that was helpful to her is it an concerted effort from you guys to get her more touch get more looks in I think her activity level was better on both ends of the floor you know live is a player who can be a really good slasher cutter particularly after she sets on or off ball screens I think she made herself available uh she did a good job of recognizing matchups and when she was crossmatched making herself available in the postup you know I think she did a good job of not putting the ball on the floor too much and just going straight into into her shot um you know just you know when livb is really active offensively she gives us a different type of look because of her length than Breezy um and I felt like her defense was really good you know she's again Breezy can can play with physicality but lives length and her ability to alter shots um is important and I thought she she was outstanding step this delicately um I don't remember there having to be two challenges in the first half of a basketball game one you had to get a challenge in out of bounds call would you like to see that something be different next year because I mean had you lost that challenge you use your challenge for the game on a ball outside of not missing the call so we don't have to challenge yeah no I mean I don't know I think it's I think it's part of what what makes us um have to be sure right you know I I would like to see us have more camera angles you know I don't love the fact that that every time we're asking or or or you know five out of six times we're asking it's blocked we don't have an angle we don't have this we don't have that um you know I think we're on our way um but but it needs to be equal to what the NBA has right we need to be able to have all all all of those things um but it's also up to to us to make sure that we're sure you know I think it's an area that we've got to continue as as coaches and support staff to get better in um you know and and that was in just of course because look we're we're all human we're gonna miss we're going to miss some things but you know to me the out of bounds plays um are critical like like they're critical the fouls a lot of that's subjective right the the out of bounds plays are critical so for us um to be able to get that back is huge um I don't remember was was there's a foul in the first half their challenge yeah yeah yeah I I love the fact that we have it um I just I wish we could we could use it a little bit more efficiently taking questions on Zoom Tiffany Tiffany yep um Co coach you had mentioned four games back Tob back um playing games back toback like this how do you stay um physically and mentally fit um to continue back to about these games up ahead and possibly season yeah it's a tough balance for us um especially right now because we're we're trying to integrate you know Marina into what we do and and we need some some practice time especially offensively to work on our chemistry and our spacing and our timing um but we also have to understand the big picture and and execution if you're not fresh is is a moot point so for us um you know it's it's we we've been trying to be mindful of that as a coaching staff in terms of how much we're on the floor um challenging our players to be mindful of of the extra mental reps that they need to get um the extra extra effort to understand Personnel in scouting reports and playing Tendencies um you know next week we we have another back-to-back next weekend so it's and it's it's not um it is it is the way it is I mean certainly but but for us it's it's a trying to manage that and we sometimes we get it right sometimes we don't I just felt like we had a different mentality and a different bounce um about us tonight George uh coach the team has really been thrown back into it since the Olympics a four game week that included a game at the Boston Garden with a lot of emotions and was more than a game and a backtack that included a game on the road in the top teams place you come away three in one this week how proud of you and the team for staying the course in just a week that you know had a lot I'm really proud of this group um you know we knew that the back half of our schedule was going to be challenging you know we we we were padded a little bit early in the season um and and we knew that it was going to be a challenge in particular you know these two weeks playing a lot of games playing a lot of games on the road um you know I know that Boston was was technically a home game but um you know playing a lot of games on the road for us in in this stretch in August and and you know doesn't get any easier in September um but I'm really proud of our group I felt like tonight was was just as much U mental as physical I felt like our execution for the most part was really good um and and that's a sign of of of just the the mental approach that we had and and you know when you can get the production and the minutes that we got from our bench like we did tonight that that's huge L hey coach this is bles P from Blake take and WNBA Swit Olivia Nelson OD DOA had 12 points four rebounds and two block shots what did you think of her activity offensively and defensively I thought she was great I thought she came in right away and impacted the game you know she's able to give a different look than Breezy because of her length I thought her ability to roll hard to the rim um to recognize cross matches in transition to make herself available and to make the right play she kept the ball off the floor she went to work on the post um her touch around the rim was really good and her activity level defensively was excellent as well it's it's it's what we needed you know coming off of a back toback for for breezy particularly um you know post players play play hard minutes right it's the level of physicality down low offensively defensively and so for live to come in and not just spell breezy but excel in that role was big thank you coach thank you Emily step you guys really slowed New York down in transition they only had seven points um on the fast break so I'm just curious whether that was an emphasis for you since that's something that's kind of powered them this year yeah I think um you know for us we talk about it a lot our transition defense know there were a couple of times where we didn't get matched up uh really really well in transition but but it's got to be about offensive execution we did a better job at taking care of the basketball tonight um especially in the first half you know we we the third quarter we we got we got loose a little bit but especially in the first half and offensive execution is the best transition defense so taking care of the ball giving yourself a chance understanding where shots are coming out of offense so that you have opportunities uh to get back in transition defense I thought we were a little bit more intentional in the things that we were doing for the most part offensively okay we're gonna finish with Michael and then m in the room yeah um yeah coach uh I just want to ask you two things real quick uh one being you guys are very close to clinching um if it doesn't happen tonight it's going to happen very soon and I just wanted your thoughts about the way that this week in particular maybe sort of shows how ready you guys are for the postseason and then if you could also just sort of um talk about the case that DJ has made for most improved player yeah I am I'll talk about nay first you know I think um you know nay's trajectory has been you know more of a of a of a typical trajectory in our league and you know for her to know and understand that she had an opportunity to get into the starting lineup this year um for her to accept that challenge um and to maintain it with consistency um and and not just accept it but excel in it you know certainly we knew that she would be a Lockdown Defender for us and I'm still am making a case for her for defensive player of the year in First Team all defensive team um but she found her way not just defensively and being a defensive stopper but offensively as well and doing it for long periods of time you know she she really is invaluable to everything that we do her ability to get downhill uh we don't have a lot of players who can attack the rim the way she does um you know her speed in the open floor and and her ability to to create opportunities whether it's off of defensive boards or out in transition off of Steels U we just don't have anybody who does what she does and she's been exceptional and and yeah certainly I think that that she's um a front runner for most improved player as far as being being playoff ready and you know I think our team um while it hasn't been pretty and while we're continuing to to find our way the thing I love about our team is we have a a toughness about us that allows us to win win tight games you know we we haven't had very many that we we pulled away and we put away double digits they they've all kind of come down to the wire and we found ways ways to win uh you know I think we have an opportunity over over the course of the next couple of weeks as we head into you know the the last the second or third week into September of really starting to come together offensively I think we're defensively ready I'd like to throw a few more wrinkles in there but I think offensively we've got to continue to to build that chemistry we've got to continue to to Now understand the different looks we can get with Marina on the floor so that hopefully by the time we head into playoffs we're clicking on all cylinders on both ends thank you just that last point I'm curious the especially with a couple more practice days coming up this week what your you know approach the game plan is to reviewing the film and seeing where the chemistry is and isn't we're going to try to integrate different lineups how you approach practice Yeah well first and foremost we're going to give him some extra time off you know it's been a brutal week um you know at um especially coming back from the Olympics and being thrown right into a lot of games in a short period of time um but it it's it's been a tough week so we're going to give him some extra time off um you know certainly rest and Recovery is is primary number one and we'll get back to to watching the film and and prepping spending maybe a little bit more time on on on working our offense um you know as as well as preparing defense I mean we got a tough Indiana team that we're coming up against that plays with great Pace that is AB absolutely scary right and so we we got to make sure that that while we're working on us we're also preparing for them every game matters every opponent um and every opportunity we have to step on the floor seating is important you know seating is important so so we're going to balance out the rest and and and the preparation and use the few days that we have to practice um to continue to work on our on our offense and then and then game prep for three tough games this week thank you coach thank you they are currently within a couple of possessions of many are they now