WNBA FINALS: MONARCHS v SUN

September 15, 2005

Mike Thibault

COACH MIKE THIBAULT: We're trying to do our part for WNBA marketing, keep everybody here an extra half hour. It was a great basketball game. It had to be fun to sit in the stands and watch that because you had such ebb and flow of the game, you had two teams that were playing probably as high a level as you can defensively. You know, I kept thinking, geez, we're having some flat spots offensively but I kept watching how hard both teams were playing defensively. It was hard to get a good shot, shoot, the 3 we had might have been a better than we had for a while in regulation down the stretch. Proud of our two point guards for stepping up, Jen and Jamie did a great job tonight pushing the ball up the floor and did a great job defensively. We had a lot of people step up and make some shots. It was a great game.

COACH MIKE THIBAULT: They have been doing that for a while, Taj was struggling, stated out great, made some big shots when we needed them. Her defense on Yolanda was very, very good tonight. And then Katie and Kesh, you know, Katie, I mean, she's every night, she's got to chase around some great shooter and then try to step up and be an offensive player and Kesh tonight her defense, I know you guys want to talk about some of their offense but I'm more impressed with some of the defensive plays we made, steals, tips in the lane, rebounds in traffic, I thought they all stepped up and did that. Brooke I thought came in, did a long stretch in on DeMya, which we needed. Veterans, your veteran leaders are supposed to lead you to a win and they did.

COACH MIKE THIBAULT: She was not the first option, she was the second option. We felt they were going to probably deny Katie Douglas the 3, so we let her be the ball handler if we could get it to her. The play was initially designed for Nykesha and Katie was open, Taj was patient enough to draw defenders. She was just trying to drive at a defender, make them help and then kick out to an open player. You know, Brooke stepped up and made a great shot. But she was not the first, second, third option on the play. But we put her on the play because she's a great wing shooter.

COACH MIKE THIBAULT: Oh, no. She started the second half. But she didn't play much down the stretch. She didn't play in the overtime. Mainly because Taj had a good feel going on how to play Yolanda and we had put Margo on Brunson and then Brunson got in foul trouble and was out of the game and they came in with a smaller, quicker player in DeMya Walker and I thought Brooke and Asjha did a better job in that regards. Our team has learned over the course of these two years, especially in games like this, I'm going to go with the match-ups defensively that I like. Tonight I just felt those match-ups were better for us. Margo did a great job of getting us started early in each half but then when they subbed, I thought we had better match-ups when we subbed.

COACH MIKE THIBAULT: I knew this afternoon. This morning, I didn't think it was that bad but the swelling never went down. Her knee was fine, but her ankle, she tripped last night early in the second half trying to get over a pick-and-roll and it swelled up a little bit after the game. Then today, it was worse. We'll keep getting treatment. It's not a high ankle sprain so hopefully by Sunday, she can play. She'll be a little bit better, we'll see. Our other ones did a great job.

COACH MIKE THIBAULT: It has to be pretty gratifying to be a starter one year, hurt all the next year, in and out of the lineup at times this year. She started out the season great shooting and then went through a dry spell where she just couldn't buy a shot and now she hits one of the biggest ones of her career. I'm assuming she's pretty excited. (Laughter) I'm sure a lot of you will ask her that tonight, too, and probably some of you will say, "Brooke, was this the biggest shot of your career." And she'll stare at you and she won't remember. (Laughter). But right now, today, it probably is.

COACH MIKE THIBAULT: Maybe she shoots better that way when she has no choice.

COACH MIKE THIBAULT: Sometimes. We keep telling her, she's such an unselfish player. She's unselfish to a fault. Tonight she steps up and makes three out of four from the three point line on a night we really needed every one of them. She was just much more aggressive tonight, and you know, sometimes I think almost she looks to be more aggressive when she plays the 4 spot than when she plays the 3. We played her there a lot tonight. I don't know, I've given up being a psychologist. Thank you.