WNBA FINALS: MINNESOTA VS. NEW YORK

October 13, 2024

Cheryl Reeve

Napheesa Collier

Alanna Smith

Minnesota Lynx

Game 2: Postgame

New York Liberty 80, Minnesota Lynx 66

Q. Within two with about 3:20 left and you guys didn't score again. Was it a matter of them turning up the heat or you guys struggling to get shots?

CHERYL REEVE: Our offense was bad at a time when we really needed it. Our pace was slow. Taking too long to get into things, and you know, I don't think we were terribly hard to play against from that standpoint. And that was obviously a difficult time to be doing that.

Q. I think you were down 17 in the second quarter, and the game had followed a similar script to the first. You had to feel like when Courtney scored, the game was within reach. How disappointing to let it get away in that fashion?

CHERYL REEVE: I'm disappointed that we let it get to 17. I'm more disappointed in that. I'm more than disappointed, I'm pissed that that happened again.

Q. Napheesa, this game seemed to be called really differently first half to second second half?

CHERYL REEVE: Sure, did.

Q. I know you guys can't say much about officiating but how hard is when it's that dramatically different?

NAPHEESA COLLIER: It's hard. You have to adjust to the refs. Definitely it's not an excuse. We played really bad. I'm definitely not using that as an excuse.

But it's hard to adjust because you are playing one way and you are getting used to the refs and then they change it up. But that's not why we lost. It wasn't them. It was us. Can't blame that.

Q. Like you said, Coach, Liberty were up 17 points. Didn't get the outcome you guys wanted but the team stayed resilient and we saw that last game, too. How does the team this team continue to stay resilient, you guy are always kind of right there?

CHERYL REEVE: It's been talked about a lot. This is a group that problem solves well together. They never think they are out of it. Their belief in themselves and their belief in each other is top-notch. And we know it's a long game. They are very experienced.

We just knew what we had to clean up, get some things cleaned up and we did that then. Put ourselves in position, right where we wanted to be and just couldn't get over the hump.

Q. Following up on that, in the second half, Napheesa getting in trouble, how did that affect the game and switching the lineup when you needed her the most?

CHERYL REEVE: I don't think it affected the game. I don't know if it affected her play. Phee can answer that. It was a chance to get her three minutes of rest and at the end of the quarter, that was fine, and then she went back in.

So it didn't affect us.

Q. What was the difference you saw tonight in Laney-Hamilton? Sandy said she's not been a hundred percent but her being that X-factor tonight, what difference did she make?

CHERYL REEVE: Huge difference. So both games they have gotten help from part of their -- they have a big five, right, their starters are all very capable, just like our starters are all very capable and you need players beyond your stars, and for two games, they have done that. We're having trouble getting that consistently and we've got to have that.

Q. Not the result you wanted today, obviously, but is there some encouragement that you came here, got the one win and go home still having stolen home-court advantage and you get to play the next two at home?

NAPHEESA COLLIER: I mean, yeah, obviously you want to steal one on the road. We're really disappointed I think in how we played today but excited to go home and play in front of our crowd, and we have to respond. We have to come out playing better than we did in these two games.

It's hard. Like we are both competing for a championship. You have to play with a level of desperation from the very beginning, and so that's what we're going to need to do to come out in Game 3.

Q. To that end, is it harder to play with desperation when you get a fourth foul, when you're in that moment, and do you have to sort of change the way you're thinking about how to close out and how to attack on the defensive end?

NAPHEESA COLLIER: I honestly don't feel like I changed my mindset. I feel like I stayed aggressive on defense. I was frustrated that I had those four fouls but I don't think it affected me in the way that I was playing.

Q. Alanna's defense has been outstanding on JJ. She gets help but for the most part she's doing an outstanding job. Can you talk about her play?

CHERYL REEVE: Are you her uncle?

Q. Do I look that old?

CHERYL REEVE: No, I happen to agree with you. I had a chance to talk to Joe Ingles, I don't know if I told Lan this when we were in Minnesota, and he asked me how I liked my Australian. And we talked about all the ways that we love the way that Lan plays and her level of compete, and that's what Joe said. He's like, one thing you're darned sure an Australian is going to do is compete their tails off.

And Lan is the very definition of that. Doesn't matter how big, doesn't matter how difficult it is. Lan is always there for us in that way.

Q. You played Hiedeman a lot of minutes, especially down the stretch, what did she give and you what was she really providing for the lineup that you had?

CHERYL REEVE: We were trying to get another ball handler out there, somebody they had to pay attention to, try to get downhill a little bit, try to create some easier opportunities playing with flow. Setups weren't necessarily producing anything for us, so we just thought, spread the floor and play with two ball handlers.

Q. Sabrina, what changed in how you guys approached guarding her between in the first quarter and the final three? Did anything change?

CHERYL REEVE: Well, I mean, what did she have at half, 12? Ten of them were in fast break. Ten of them were fast break. So what changed is she wasn't able to get it in the fast break and we had her in the halfcourt.

Q. Similar question about Breanna Stewart, knowing how Game 1 ended and the play she was involved in and trying to game plan for her in this game, assuming she might try to make up for that in some form, what did you see coming?

CHERYL REEVE: I think Stewie is the same. I don't think making her missing a shot or free throw. We do this long enough that those things happen. She's resilient. She played exactly like we thought she would. I thought she played great in Game 1.

And so you know, I think her impact defensively was something that we felt. You know, what did she have, seven steals? And so you know, she's been doing that in these playoffs.

More than that, in my mind -- you have to ask Stewie, but I don't think that's what was on her mind. I think what was on their collective minds is it's a must-win game for them and they came out and played like it was, and they took the game.

Q. Coach Reeve, you said there's things you've seen in both these games you can do a lot better. Is there some comfort knowing you're coming out with a split even though you feel like you haven't played your best?

CHERYL REEVE: Yeah, but I think the opponent has a fair amount to do with it. We have to come up with better opportunities and better things that we can do offensively so that we can get back to a little bit more of a balanced scoring.

So I think that's most important to say is New York has had a lot to do with this.

Q. How important is the bench in a series like this when it's tightly contested like it is, two great teams, how important is your bench?

CHERYL REEVE: You've got players that are playing a lot of minutes, a lot of heavy minutes, and any time you can get your bench to come in and be productive and you can keep them out there longer, that's an advantage.

But I don't think either bench has been necessarily a separator. We talked about Hiedeman in the last game. She scored it. I think she had ten, right. So that was impactful.

But you know, both teams are looking for anywhere else you can go so that you don't have all this pressure on your top players.