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WNBA FINALS: FEVER v LYNXOctober 17, 2012Tamika CatchingsBriann JanuaryMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Game Two MINNESOTA 66 Q. Can you just talk for a minute about how you feel like your depth impacted what happened tonight and also with Jeanette getting hurt, how you feel about your depth moving forward in the series? TAMIKA CATCHINGS: I think we are in the same situation we were in when Katie went down. When one person steps down or gets hurt, another person has to step up. We have Karima Christmas sitting on the bench, and she has not really played much since the regular hard season, but in practice every single day that's the one thing I've always told her, you have to be ready because if somebody goes down, you're the next person. She came out, had a couple minutes tonight but look for her more Friday night. BRIANN JANUARY: Like she said, we have Karima on the bench and we do have great depth. Karima has experience with our team and she's done great things in games in the past. It's tough when you drop one, but that's the one great thing about our team. We rally together and step up and people have responded really well when we have been in these situations before. Q. The other night you said the atmosphere you fed off it and tonight seemed like it was working against you. Talk about what the atmosphere does for you or against you and also how much that will shift going back to Indiana. TAMIKA CATCHINGS: Well, I think the atmosphere tonight was great again. I wouldn't say that it went against us tonight. I think more than anything, just on the court, Seimone Augustus went against us; that's what happened. But Seimone had a great game tonight and her teammates fed off of that. I think for us, what we did Game1, we played with a lot more intensity, and tonight, we talked about it after the game on Sunday, it's going to be a lot more physical in the game Wednesday and I felt like tonight was a lot more physical and Friday is going to be even more physical if that's even possible. I thought as a team we didn't step up to the plate when we needed to when we should have rallied and came closer together, it's like we came apart a little bit, and we can't afford to do that, not with the defending champ. Q. When you have such a great jump shooter as Seimone Augustus, how hard is it to defend her, especially when she has the teammates she has that also can score? TAMIKA CATCHINGS: She's a great player and I've had the opportunity to play with her over in Turkey and even with the Olympic Team, so I've seen firsthand the danger that she poses on whoever she's playing against. I can tell you, I like playing with her rather than against her any time. But you know, I think for us, we did a good job in the first half just keeping the ball out of her hands and with any great player, all of the players we talked about this in the locker room. But all of the great players we faced on the road and this journey to get to where we are at, with any great player, you have to figure out a way to keep them from getting the ball. Whoever guards Money‑‑ I call her Money. Whoever guards Mon on Friday, we have to do a better job just trying to keep the ball out of her hands. Q. Easily half of the game you were bringing the ball up the court, as opposed to letting one of the point guards do that. Was that part of the game strategy or just impatience to get it downcourt and shoot it? TAMIKA CATCHINGS: A lot of it had to do with Brunson, she was doubling Bri and doubling Erin when they were bringing it up, and that's something we had talked about in practice. But kind of skip to get to the end of the game, it took me from taking the ball out and put one of our guards from taking the ball out, and it worked out a lot better for us. Q. For both players, how much do you think the emotion and the momentum of the game changed with that little episode with the jacket flinging and the technical fouls, the two on Minnesota? TAMIKA CATCHINGS: The technicals? Q. That whole episode where the Minnesota coach threw the jacket. TAMIKA CATCHINGS: Oh, that's what happened? I mean, didn't see that. I mean, I thought they got fired up, they really did after that. I think the momentum, I mean, Seimone was already at that point hitting quite a few shots and they just kind of rallied with I guess the two technicals. Q. If you take this, you want to win every game you play, but if you look at the big picture and say you got out of here with a split against a team that doesn't lose very often at home at all, do you feel good about where you are headed home? BRIANN JANUARY: Oh, most definitely. We came in here, we battled and knew it was going to be tough. They have lost one game on their court the entire season so we knew it was going to be tough coming in here, and to take one away is great. I think we have positioned ourselves well heading back home, and you know, we have got to regroup and it's going to be nice coming back and having our fans on our side cheering for us and giving us a little boost. Yeah, we are just going to regroup and it's even now. So it's going to be a war. It's going to continue to be a war the rest of the series and we'll be ready. Q. I came in late, but Minnesota forced 24 turnovers on you tonight. What was their adjustments on defense that really pressured your team? TAMIKA CATCHINGS: Pressure. I think that they came out and we talked about it, we talked about adjustments they were going to make, and for me I know they were double‑teaming when I was coming off‑‑ any screen I was coming off of, they were double‑teaming and trying to bring everybody up. So for me, trying to make the adjustment. When Monica Wright came in, that's when their defensive intensity went way up. We can't afford‑‑ I had a turnover to Bri and almost had another turnover and like a chain of turnovers we had. We have to do a better job. We'll go back home and watch the tape when we get back to India I can't in a and look at the turnovers. But probably one of the biggest reasons we lost tonight is just rebounding. We got killed on the boards, again. And we talked about it; we continue to talk about the boards all season long about what we can do as a team when we play such great defense, and then we miss out, I miss a box out and kick it out and they are getting open 3s. We have to do a better job. Q. One way of looking at this is in a very positive light in that you were able to split the series against a team that went 16‑1 in the regular season at home. Another way of looking at it is in terms of momentum in that you started off after winning Game1, coming in here in Game2 and basically handing away a double‑digit lead and ending up losing significant losers and another player. Do you think that there's been a momentum shift here that's going to make it difficult for you to get back in the swing of things when you get home? TAMIKA CATCHINGS: I don't really look at it as a momentum shift. I think that once again, just like after Sunday night's game, everybody is going to go back and make adjustments, and we are going to go home and we are going to make adjustments. I mean, with JP out, it is a loss. We don't know what's going to happen with Katie yet so we'll get back tomorrow and see where she's at and see if she's able to join us on Friday. I think that‑‑ I mean, Lord willing, we'll all go out and regroup tomorrow, get back in the gym and go over the adjustments and we'll be ready for Friday. I wouldn't say momentum swing. I just think that we lost Game1 against Atlanta, came back and won two. We lost Game1 against Connecticut, and came back and won two. We lost tonight, all we need to do is win two (smiling). FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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