Dallas Wings Post Game Press Conference (09/01/24) #wnba #dallaswings #sports
Transcript
00:00We have Coach Trammell, Jason Sheldon, and Dr. Saville.
00:04If you have questions in person, we'll go ahead. Otherwise, on the Zoom, just raise your hand a bunch and we'll get to you.
00:08Rob, go ahead. My question goes to everyone here.
00:12That was a really close game, playoff intensity, and that wasn't the outcome y'all were looking for,
00:16but what are some of the positive takeaways that you can take going into Tuesday?
00:20We stayed together as a team. I think that really
00:24that was really pointing out to me. We kept huddling, we kept
00:28communicating and talking. Kudos to any. They had a
00:32great game and they matched us really well.
00:36We stayed together and that is our identity and we'll move forward to the next game.
00:40I agree. I think in an environment like that, it's a
00:44hostile environment. I think the most important thing is us being there for each other. We were throughout
00:48the whole game. Obviously, we want the win and this one hurts, but I think
00:52like you talked about, the positives, that's definitely something positive we can take away.
00:56I think just to reiterate what they said,
01:00really, is just playing every position.
01:04You know what I mean? And fighting to win. Enrique tied the WNBA record for
01:08made threes. Sixth 30 point game of the year.
01:12Tee, even though she's sick, throwing up on the side.
01:16Don't want us to know that. The fourth straight double digit rebounding game,
01:20which was good. Team season high made threes.
01:24Over 90 plus points for the fourth straight game. Fewer turnovers
01:28than opponent for the seventh time. And then Tosh had a season high nine assist.
01:32So we're gonna build on this going into
01:36Tuesday's game. Very proud of them.
01:40Coach, you had JC on Kaitlyn early
01:44in the game. Talk a little bit about what she did there. Yeah, it's the first thing when I walked
01:48into the locker room I said, because Kaitlyn is good. I think we
01:52all know that. She hit two back to back threes just
01:56unreal there in the fourth quarter. But JC went against Kaitlyn
02:00and knows her game better than anyone went against her in college for four
02:04years. So I think JC's intensity, knowing Kaitlyn's
02:08game extremely well, I thought she did a good job.
02:12JC, I guess going off that, how have you seen Kaitlyn develop
02:16since college, now playing against her now? Yeah, she's a really
02:20good player. Everybody sees it, I think. You just look forward to
02:24those matchups when you're a competitor. But she can really pass. She can pass the
02:28crap out of the ball and that's what makes her so hard to guard, honestly. You kind of
02:32got to pick your battles and choose. But I think, obviously,
02:36like you guys said, she's a great player. I want to say this about Sol too really
02:40quick. In the first half she was one for eight, one for five. A lot of people
02:44would probably back down a little bit, but coming out in that second half
02:48really exploded in us and kept us in the game, knocking down
02:5225 points. So that's a way to stay locked in and stay engaged.
02:56Sol too, I know it was a disappointing loss
03:00after the three wins in a row. How do you
03:04go ahead and pick back up the momentum as you come have another home game Tuesday
03:08and then continue to try to fight for that last spot? I know it's a little disappointing, but how do you
03:12continue? I don't have a down feeling at all, honestly. I feel like I'm
03:16already thinking about the next game and what we could have done better, especially closing
03:20out the game and finishing out the game. It's about details. We
03:24didn't execute in the end. It's the WNBA. We're going to get punished if we
03:28don't do that. So for the next game, just playing
03:3240 minutes and not 37, that's
03:36all I'm thinking about right now. And Indiana was in sixth in the
03:40rankings. We were fortunate that Chicago... I mentioned these next couple are
03:44going to be really big. That's the ones that we're battling truly for
03:48that eighth spot.
03:52Go ahead.
03:56Just positives that you guys would take out
04:00of the game tonight. We answered that already, but
04:04I would say obviously my biggest thing is ending with a win.
04:08Although I don't feel like we're down, we still lost and we have to face the reality,
04:12but we stayed together as a team.
04:16JC, how's this journey been for you over the course of the season? It seems like
04:20you're finding your niche with the team. You're making decisive plays,
04:24doing the intangibles. For you individually, how's
04:28this been over the course of the year and how do you feel right now?
04:32I'd feel better if we came out with a win, but like Zaha said, I'm really proud of how we
04:36stayed together and just getting more comfortable playing with these girls.
04:40They make it easy. I think they build my confidence more than anyone, so I think
04:44getting really comfortable within the offense and defense and continuing to
04:48make them better, not only myself. Honestly, whenever I'm out there I just want to give it my all,
04:52play as hard as I can, and that's where my focus is at. Obviously
04:56being able to... I think we could have took control at the end there,
05:00kind of controlled the pace, and I think that's what we'll do moving forward these next
05:04two games. Coach, on Erika making nine
05:08and setting the record, how special was that to... When was it and were you
05:12able to talk to her afterwards about that performance? That's one thing about
05:16Erika. She's never gonna be satisfied. She's like these two
05:20next to me and everyone else in the locker room who wanted to win. That's the ultimate goal,
05:24but she's probably not even worried about that. She's
05:28done an amazing job, but she's not satisfied.
05:32We're proud of that. That's a big record.
05:36Coach made an interesting comment. She said you started slow, kept your resiliency.
05:40What goes into that mindset? Some people may not understand how difficult it is to go back
05:44in the second half and keep firing away. What goes into that mindset?
05:48Just facing reality that I might have not hit some shots, but
05:52it's okay and I'll continue to shoot. I had
05:56a couple of shots where I would rethink that shot again in the first half, so
06:00I'll look at them, but if it's a good shot, it's a good shot
06:04and I'll always take it. In the second half, they went in.
06:08Just having the confidence in yourself and in the practice you put in because
06:12if you don't take them, you're not gonna make them either.
06:16Blake, go ahead.
06:20Blake's taken WNBA Swish.
06:24Jaycee had taken
06:28off battles in college for a couple of years, but what did you
06:32think of her defensive effort on Caitlin for the most part?
06:36Who's that for? Coach, sorry.
06:40Like I said, I thought Jaycee knows her game better than
06:44anyone. She knows when Caitlin goes left, she's gonna shoot the three. When she goes right,
06:48she's gonna look to drive to the rim and just her intensity
06:52and just her activity on Clark, especially
06:56in the first half and majority of the game, to be honest.
07:00And having to play that many minutes, for a rookie, I thought she did
07:04fantastic. Thank you. Time for one more?
07:08Coach, just talk about... It was a packed house today. Just talk about
07:12the growth of the sport that you've seen over the course of the year and how they're working to the end of it.
07:16Yeah. It's been amazing. What is special about it
07:20is the people that has come before all these players. One of them came
07:24into our locker room after the game, Cooper. Cynthia, she came in and
07:28said some encouraging words to our team and her mindset
07:32when she first started in this league. What'd she say, 34?
07:36I think that's just amazing. I want to say that
07:40started with that foundation of that group of women when the league started
07:44and just where it is and where it's grown. I'm just honored. I know everyone else is too,
07:48but just to be a part of this growth and to see the enhancements
07:52made in women's basketball, I'm just honored and blessed
07:56to be a part of it. I'll add something to that too. When I was driving to the game today,
08:00obviously it's annoying because there were way too many Caitlin fans
08:04in our area.
08:08It's just kudos because it's amazing
08:12to see so many people in women's basketball jerseys. It's amazing to see the excitement
08:16and the joy that comes out of that.
08:20Although I feel like our Dallas fans could have done better, I had mixed feelings
08:24seeing all the Caitlyn jerseys in our home, but it's an amazing time
08:28for women's basketball. It's just great how far
08:32we've come. It's just fun. It's good.