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WNBA FINALS: FEVER v MERCURYOctober 4, 2009Tamika CatchingsKatie DouglasINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA: Game Three Phoenix Mercury 85 Q. Tamika, can you describe what happened in that penultimate play of the game. You came down with the rebound. Looked like you were trying to call time-out. TAMIKA CATCHINGS: Yes, I did. One of the things going into the time-out coming back out just off a rebound or whatever, just calling time-out when we got the rebound because if you get the rebound and you dribble, you can't advance the ball. So I got the rebound looking around for a referee try to call time-out, but Nicole got there and I guess they felt like her hands were on the ball. So he had he called a jump ball. But it doesn't matter because we won, thank God! Q. Either of you can answer this: What were you looking for most on that last play from a defensive standpoint? What were you expecting them to do? KATIE DOUGLAS: I mean they have so many play-makers out there with Cappie, Penny, Diana. We talked, Coach Dunn definitely told us some plays that she felt like they could run but, you know, I don't think that it was that play that we talked about. We thought it was going to be something else. I think we did a great job but we had one foul to give, and it's so hard to foul in that one moment because they're such great players at this level. They can throw it up and be in the act of shooting. We talked about plays but, again, they're great players. So we really relied on our defense and communicating with one another and talking, you know, when you couldn't see what's behind you. Q. In the last three WNBA Finals the winner of Game 3 has twice lost the series, what do you have to do to be sure that doesn't happen? TAMIKA CATCHINGS: I think the biggest thing is staying focused. We have to come out -- tomorrow we're not going to have a day off, we're going to come in and start looking at Wednesday, and everybody has to stay focussed and we have to stay hungry. That's the biggest thing, I think a lot of teams get content especially when you go up 2-1, they get a little down, but we have to stay on our toes and keep them on their heels. And Diana and Cappie had great games, and next game we have to do a better job of using team defense, using Tammy Sutton-Brown. Jessica Davenport was the X-factor the last game in Phoenix, so we have to get her back in there and I think that will be the biggest difference. Q. Katie, Coach Gaines brought up the technical, can you describe what happened there. And can you address the crowd of this size and how it affected your game? KATIE DOUGLAS: First, I want to talk about the crowd. They were phenomenal, I think Conseco Fieldhouse has been longing for this energy and this excitement in the building, so to be a part of it is very, very special. Again for myself, everybody knows by now that I'm from here. To be a part of this team and hear the fans and the support that we are gaining from this community, the intensity and the atmosphere was phenomenal, nothing short, probably the biggest stage thus far that I've played in, and I think Wednesday is going to be even better and bigger. So I credit Indianapolis and the fans for being our sixth man and really being there to support us. Regarding the technical, I think it was just organized chaos. I don't know what happened. I really don't know. It was just kinda -- I told her I didn't think it was intentional but it's whatever the refs see. I don't complain, I keep moving. The refs are always right in my book. TAMIKA CATCHINGS: Oh yeah? Okay, not always, not in my book! KATIE DOUGLAS: Everybody like that? Get that on record. TAMIKA CATCHINGS: So when y'all see her complaining... KATIE DOUGLAS: Tell me, Catch, the refs are always right. Q. Ladies, a run by you guys at the end of the halftime, Tamika with a steal, down six, Tully hit the three, she takes the charge from Diana. Diana just knocked down a three also. And going into the end of the third quarter and Briann with that little run of hers scoring 10 points, what does that mean to you, to your team when things like that happen? TAMIKA CATCHINGS: It's huge, everybody -- just the confidence we have among each other and playing with whoever is on the court, our bench is phenomenal, you look out there and times we make a play on the court, and you see the bench, the excitement that stems from them carries over on to the court and vice versa. Bri has been amazing. We talked about how much she's grown from the beginning of the season, going through the regular season into the playoff, we talked about how unbelievable she was in the Washington series and the things she did in the Detroit series, and now we're here in the Phoenix series and she is doing even more than she did before. And for us it's definitely great to see her -- she's a rookie but she definitely doesn't play like a rookie and it's exciting for us to see that. Just the best thing for me and my years being here is the balance that we have as a team. And knowing that even if we're having an off-night shooting, there are other people that step up. Ebony stepped up and hit that shot, y'all don't know how many years she has been practicing that shot. And for her to finally come around and we were talking about how she ended the regular season, oh, she's in a slump, this, that, but playoffs, she stepped up her game and she's done such big things especially in the Phoenix series, playing unbelievable, out of her mind and that's awesome for both of us to see that, especially with the hard work she has put in in the previous years. Q. What's your thought going into Wednesday evening? KATIE DOUGLAS: My thought? Catch said it best, we're going to stay on our toes, not relax. Phoenix is a previous WNBA champion, so they're going to come in extremely hungry, not wanting to let this series be over. So we've got to come in with an enormous amount of energy and effort and concentration. I think that at times we could have done a better job concentrating, communicating, and really playing Fever basketball. We had a lot of breakdowns, so we will get back to the grind tomorrow, no day off, there is no time for that. And just, you know, be ready and be prepared. I think that's kinda been our philosophy, we're going to continue what we've went doing all season long and be ready on Wednesday. THE MODERATOR: Thanks very much. End of FastScripts |
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