NY Liberty vs Sun 8/24/24 Postgame Media Scrum w Breanna Stewart & Kayla Thornton

first of all thank you for taking the time um wanted to ask you know you uh coach you and the coaches always say that serve as experiences so what can you Lear um yeah I mean I hope that um it gets us kind of locked back in I think that you know it's a little bit frustrating game because last one of our three game roads start home stand and now we go on the road um and it was a little bit of controlles you know you have to give credit to to Connecticut for um making our game a little bit ugly but uh it seemed like the ball was getting stuck we weren't moving both sides and um what I mean I don't know what we scored in the second half but wasn't a lot of points so does a game like that does a game like that now obviously you guys have to win a title game like that going on the road trip really reignite you guys and fight guys yeah I mean better I mean I think that you know we talked about locking back in and and that's really it you know we're going to of course you know sometimes things aren't going to go your way sometimes you know you're going to lose games but what are we going to do to control the next thing in the next day in the next game and um having that mindset and mentality to like embrace the heart you know we don't want this to be easy and like I said you know post game post Olympics like [ __ ] gets even harder from here because teams are really trying to to kind of do a playoff push and get to a great spot um so we need to embrace that a little bit and um we better way to do it than play Phoenix on the road she's slowly inching her way back but how does bany Hamilton perhaps change the course of this game if she's helping enough partake yeah I think just the way that she she's going a excellent two-way player um obviously up vet and you know someone that this team relies on um and just translating defense into offense I think that you know there was times and possessions defensively well we were just late you know we we helped one time but we didn't help the next time and and consistently you know we know that she's um a force defens Stewie Sabrina made a promise post game that you all weren't going to lose like this again so I guess how would you describe the way that you lost and I guess how are you going to make sure that even if you lose it's not going to be like this yeah mean I think just making sure that you no matter what we're going to we're going to always put our best foot forward and I feel like you know you could feel in the second Dallas game like there was some slippage happening and it and it happens over the course of the season um which is why you know losing this game we need to turn it into a it's a negative and obviously turning it into a positive and realizing that you know a wake up call for everyone like we like I said I feel like I've been saying we haven't done anything um and you know we need to finish this regular season strong and U just make sure we leave it all out what adjustments do you feel you guys need to kind of make you know especially going against such a strong defense and you know having 19 turnovers this game you know is definitely not the greatest um especially going on a road now with the Mercury what kind of adjustments do you feel you want to make and see going into this game yeah I mean I think that we were we were really trying to make the the Home Run play sometimes on the first side of the action I think that you know we know that if we can move the ball to the second and third size like analytically it it works out really well for us um and just continuing to play you know uh playing well off of one another and uh you know when the ball is moving it's it's finding the open person I think that you know going to Phoenix obviously they play really well at home and um making sure we're locked in defensively ball screens like what are we doing schematically because um you know now we have to go on the road and be like Road Warriors a little bit like you said this is now halfway through through a 6 and 11 stretch and you're heading back to the West Coast after coming back so there's some slippage in Dallas then tonight how much of this is fatigue and how can you lock in on on just what's next yeah um I mean honestly I'm not going to give the fatigue excuse uh I think that everyone if you look at everyone's schedule right now it's it's kind of wild um we had an opportunity to be home and sleep in our own beds so um this this is the dubing day and you guys know like the turnarounds are quick because you're here too um but we need to to kind of lean and rely on one another and that that means making sure that everyone's kind of resting and recovering and getting ready to go because uh it's only going to be harder you know throughout these next three years something of your identity this year as a team is you're often cutting to the basket and you know teammates are finding you but it just seemed like that happened a little bit less tonight than usual what did you think was the reason for that um like us getting cuts the basket or me specifically I mean both I mean everyone sort of feeds off of it when you guys are playing at your best yeah I mean I think that you know Connecticut did a great job controlling the the tempo and and that's really what they want to do um there was a stretch where it was like we were just settling for threes it was probably five possessions where we shot a three every single time down the court and that's that's the moment where we have to have like the maturity to be like all right we need a good play where we can get downhill and even if we get into the paint and get a paint touch and then a three it's a little bit different than just a three so I was going to follow up on that how much of Connecticut's defense was unique seeming like they not were okay with you taking threes but more focused on cutting off the paint that maybe other defenses this year like was that unique tonight or was it as you said a matter of settling yeah I mean I think that if you went to the first half both teams didn't shoot the ball well from three and probably didn't shoot the ball well the entire course of the game uh but they were really loaded up you could see it they were were packing the paint and forcing us to to make an outside shot and um um you know when we played at home the last time we were hitting those threes but when we played at their home the last time we were getting downhill um and and making sure that we can win in different ways and tonight we obviously kind of settled few more I'm going to change it a little bit uh Stewie you became the second player in WNBA history to make 500 made field goals with a team before 70 games uh joining Simone Augustus um you know as you just as you just look through everything that you've done with the new New York Liberty shattered a lot of Records last year and you're continuing to do this um like what's your mindset and what's your thought process you know when you sit back and just look at everything you've done this far yeah I mean I'm obviously like over the moon being here in New York and and really representing the Liberty I think that um the records are are cool um they'll be cooler once I'm done um but I'm not aging out um but I think that you know really credit to my teammates uh for helping me be in the position to to have this success but but also you have to look at all these records and realize you know we're playing way more games um so there needs to be some kind of as because this season wasn't 40 games like it was before you uh you spoke about wake up call and things of that nature tonight going 4 Points in does this game top possibly become personal and just you guys you know you're going to try and make it make sure moving forward doesn't um I mean I don't think it's like going to become personal I think that you know now we finished the series with with Connecticut 3 in one and um first and foremost like happy we have won that series because it does come down to a tiebreaker we know that we have the head to head um but like we let Connecticut do what they do and and score points in the paint I think they had 24 at halftime and um I think uh as as post you know especially we have to take of that and realized that uh we didn't make it hard enough for them tonight and and they made things a little bit difficult for us there was a stretch I'll go ahead off had 11 offive rebounds team that team last yeah I mean I think the old boards are are something that it's amazing to see us continue to to kind of Trend in the right direction with that getting multiple opportunities to to score the basketball um and whether we o not trying to get like in front of our our opponents if you guys know what I mean so that um we can also get back in transition and not get any any fast break points there was a stretch late in the third where it was an 11-point lead cut to four because Leo scored seven straight you hit her a couple of times ahead on leak outs but she was also guarding DNA Bonner for a lot of the night staying down a lot of those pump fakes what did you just see from Lao today that really helped you guys stay in the game yeah I mean I think Leo just you know really like the quick evolution of her as you know being in this league being a w WNBA player and um taking what the defense gives her I think that you know offensively she doesn't try to do too much she just plays uh really well and the ball finds her and um defensively you know taking a lot of pride in her matchup and knowing that you know no matter what it's going to be she's going to make sure that they shoot a t shot thanks d points in the paint tonight was 48 to 26 46 to 28 um and it felt like Connecticut was really dictating what you guys were doing offensively they're really crashing down inside and a lot of outside shots what you think of just the general um way that you guys attack that defense tonight um well first of all those to you know coming out playing uh you know they had a back to back you know they played like they didn't and I think you know we kind of played like we had a back to back um yeah our defense was kind of all over the place and I think um you know I always take ownership of myself and I wasn't really the spark that we needed tonight on the on the defensive side and uh I take ownership on that side you know we just didn't click and you know when it gets hard normally uh we kind of lock in but for some reason today we didn't um so I mean it's just a learning I'm glad we went through this you know just one game game now we have to like recoup and we have a tough uh Road games coming up so ARA made a promise post game that you all weren't going to lose like this again so I guess how would you describe the way that you all lost and I guess how are you going to remember this and and how it felt and not to try to lose in that way you may lose a game but not in this way yeah I mean um you know you're going to lose some games and even when you do play great you going to lose but the way we lost uh we kind of gave him that um I think it was everything was on us we didn't really like I said didn't know what we was doing on defense communication our offense wasn't really clicking and stuff like that but I mean it's okay you know um we're going to learn from it we're going to bounce back from it like you know Saina said and you know move forward also be is scheduled to return probably on on Monday against the I guess just how oh um oh that was KB over there well you know what why don't I ask you about kti CU she fired a rocket of a past to Stewie she's cutting with the basket I guess just we don't always talk about KB's passing we talk about her hands talk about you know hustle play she makes I guess when did you realize that she's also really yeah I mean that's just another attribute to a game you know what I'm saying there's a lot of stuff that you probably don't know about a lot of people you know it just comes within the game so I mean that's what she does and I guess going back to to Thea you know she got to to come back I guess how much of an opportune time is this for you guys to get her back I mean it's good now that we have everybody now we kind of have to know get the chemistry back get the flow of things and stuff like that so um we have to work that into play and you know s to being stuff like that so it's good to have the whole team back now we have to find ourselves and I'll keep pushing outpec how much how much of a different team does Connecticut become with Marina ma in the lineup yeah uh I mean you know she's a three-point shooter so you know there's no more like sagging off and helping others you know we have to respect her um and also deep so I mean she does bring you know a different SYM on the on the outside so we have to adjust that Ste told a few minutes ago that you were able to kind of feel yourself looking a little bit against Dall and Carri over into this game just wondering how you feel best what you again to kind of rebound from Str yeah I mean we have to find ourselves um you know I think like I said I'll talk about myself you know we we weren't there we weren't locked in especially defensively I think that's one of our keys I think that's what has helped us have this long stretch of wins was our Unity on defense and you know playing together you know once when somebody's down or somebody gets beat we always had that secondary help and I don't think we had that today um like I said that comes for myself not bringing the energy that I'm supposed to on defense and carrying that um KT um let's I'm going to change course a little bit let's just talk about when you heard the news of jayen shro signing the rest of her season contract I excited were you for her and you know tonight at the end of the game things got a little bit chippy she did get her first WNBA technical um she said you owed her some assist if there is a f for her will you take care of that f um well let's go back to first one it's a it's a blessing it's a blessing definitely um you know uh I always tell to keep her head up you know wait for her opportunity you know when um God closes one door God's always going to bless you in a in a different way we don't know how but he will and I think this is a way of God showing her her path through the WBA so I'm so happy for her and you know um with the assist uh you know I ain't talk she ain't talk to me about that now you know I will go back and tell her you know you do have that nil money that you have so you ain't that bro baby took a few more akt um so lot of talk about Myer selling for threes throughout the course of a game um obviously it's easy to kind of make that um come to that realization after a game or watching film or listening what coaches media members have to say how do you kind of make that realization kind of throughout the course of a game make those adjustments and um come back and try to win a game with you guys being in Striking Distance um yeah um sorry yeahor sorry um I'm stutter no no start um I mean with that you know we're going to miss some shots and stuff like that I think we just have to find other ways to to get going um there's so much in basketball that you can do so your shots not working you can you know get offensive rebounds get Steals and stuff like that so I think we have to work on that but we just had a off night I mean nothing not a big deal we bounce back and you know keep it moving finish your Bo oh hi Kayla um on the night you guys had 32 three-pointers and Connecticut also really sort of made made made made the paint difficult for you guys how do you sort of strike the balance between finding those paint shots while also not relying too much on three-pointer that's a good question um I think just within our offense like I said said today our offense wasn't clicking today uh we really couldn't find a rhythm normally when we do find Rhythm we get inside shots which then leads to our outside and um I don't think we did that uh you know JJ was you know she was Hing her business but it was kind of tough for her down there there was you know a lot of game touches because we wasn't hitting shots so I think once that opens up once we start knocking down shots then it kind of opens up everything else thanks