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WNBA ALL-STAR GAME

July 15, 2007

Alana Beard

WASHINGTON, D.C.

THE MODERATOR: Alana Beard will make an opening remark.
ALANA BEARD: I guess first off I would definitely have to thank the city of D.C., the WNBA, and our fans for making this game possible. It was an unbelievable experience. When I was walking out to go to the court, there was a flat screen in our locker room, and it gave like a shot of the arena, and chills just started going through my body because it was amazing to see all the fans filling the seats and having a sold-out crowd. So it was a lot of fun.
And again, thank the WNBA, because they did a marvelous job of putting this together in our city.

Q. This is the second time that the East has ever won, what do you think has been the contributing factor for them to win back-to-back?
ALANA BEARD: The East plays defense, and the West doesn't. The West shoot threes all night long, and the East takes it to the hole a little bit more. That's probably the difference.

Q. It wasn't you?
ALANA BEARD: You know, it was a combination of everyone. I thought we did a great, great job of just pushing the ball in transition, and getting the ball to the open players. And you know, we knocked down shots. We made easy shots. We got a lot of lay-ups, and I honestly believe defense was the difference in this game. I mean, you're going to ask yourself who plays defense in an All-Star Game, but when you step out on the court, it's all about winning.

Q. You talked about the sellout crowd. This game is always nationally televised. Becky Hammon was on the front page of USA Today on Friday, do you think this weekend was a real turning point for the League in terms of its popularity?
ALANA BEARD: We shall see, but I would hope that it's a turning point. And I did see the USA Today with Becky Hammon on the front. And for fans, you know, to see this game on ABC, and to see how many fans we actually had, and to understand it was a sold-out crowd, hopefully that can spark a few more interests in people and we can get more fans to the league to support the WNBA.

Q. What did you think about Laurie winning the three point contest?
ALANA BEARD: Oh, man. I'm so proud of her. I am so proud of her. When I walked out, I saw her and she was like, "A.B., I'm so nervous." And I was like, "Laurie Koehn, nervous?" I mean, she goes in the gym before every game, and I'm sure it's more before practices, but before every game I know she makes 500 threes before every game. And I can honestly say she probably takes about 525. So she's an unbelievable shooter, and I know how hard she works. And the fact that she did win made it that much more special, because she's probably one of the most dedicated players I've ever met in my life.

Q. Today was a phenomenal game, you know, here the crowd, sold-out crowd. You get the opportunity to play in front of a sold-out crowd, play in front of people who are familiar with you from back in the Duke days. I mean, talk a little bit about that whole experience, and how you felt being out there in front of all these people.
ALANA BEARD: I felt great. I remember, you know, the moment I entered the game, and I was shooting a free throw, I stood at the top of the key with my hands on my hips and I sort of glanced around the entire arena; I was in awe. I was very excited and thankful that we do have fans, we do have passionate fans that want to support the league. And it was a great experience. It's just something that you just close your eyes and dream of playing in front of. And hopefully we can get these fans out to D.C., and in other arenas. You know, for every home game, and WNBA games, so.

Q. This week has been, obviously, a phenomenal week. What has stood out most in your mind? What's set the most impression upon you for the whole week?
ALANA BEARD: I'm sorry?

Q. What's been most impressionable for you during this whole WNBA All-Star week?
ALANA BEARD: Gosh, I would have to say the fans. The support of the fans. Every event that we did, the fans came out, because they wanted to be part of whatever the WNBA was doing. We did a lot of community events, and I was very impressed to see the dedication and the support. You know, I've always said that I think D.C. has the best fans in the league, not just because they're supporting the Mystics, but they support the WNBA in general.

Q. You have been such an incredible leader for the Mystics. Compared the feeling of a regular season game, compared to today.
ALANA BEARD: In a regular season game, I'd probably be sitting on this podium mad because I had five turnovers. And it's a huge difference, because you walk out on this court, you want to win, but you're also having fun. You're smiling. Someone told me, "I've never seen you smile that much on the court," because when I'm on the court I don't smile. People think I'm probably the meanest person ever, until I open my mouth and talk to them, they understand that I am pretty nice and I don't bite. So it was definitely the difference. It's about having fun in the All-Star Game.

Q. Prior to the All-Star break you won the last home game. You guys must be really feeling confident right now. Talk about that. And what your thoughts are going forward with the next game?
ALANA BEARD: I feel great. I feel great. I'm so proud of these ladies simply because we could have easily given up because we had an excuse. We had several excuses to give up: One, our coach left, two we had a huge trade, and we started the season 0-8. But we're believers, we continue to stay optimistic about the season. And you know, I tell them that the first half of the season is totally different from the second half. We're starting the second half 0-0, because we are a totally different team. And we understand that it's time to go to battle now. Because our goal was to make the playoffs.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts

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