Sparks vs Sun | LA Sparks Weekly 9/10/2024

[Music] still [Applause] [Music] yo what's up LA Sparks fans Mike K Matthew here in the building tonight crypto.com arena for the rematch we have the Los Angeles Sparks against the Connecticut sun in a game that they were so close to winning but let it fall all apart late uh the Sparks are back tonight to try to get things popping and try to get this upset win which we thought they were going to be able to steal Sunday I'm here with DJ triy T DJ what what could look different tonight for the Sparks to make this win happen I think everything can look different Michel we always talk about on this game anybody can win in a WNBA game no matter the consequence circumstance it looked like we had three solid quarters of basketball so now we know the tweaks that we need to make right it sounds like the team is really energized and that coaching has done some adjustments and I'm I'm feeling good about it but that's the question question how do you get a full quarter full game from this team they can play three quarters right they may play a bad third quarter a bad second quarter and come back to bite them last game was a terrible fourth quarter how do they get a full fourth quarter game out of this team I think they're going to have to play faster they already know that Connecticut is playing a slower pace so we got some youth on our side right we talk about these rookies and these people are who are in development put th them out there allow them to get some burn and make some good defensive stops and I think we can Outlast the Connecticut Sun hey tonight we got to see if rakia can do it back to back she talked about last game how her and danana Bonner has such a great Bond a player that she's looked up to they were talking a lot of smack I'm looking for a lot of smack talk from her tonight what can we expect from the great rakia Jackson I'm I'm feeling good about Ria she got a little gold chain little Diamond chain on today y'all it's looking good she always says that when she looks good she plays good so it feels like just from watching the shoot around that she's got the Vibes the energy is high and they shook off that loss and can refocus and really play some good basketball tonight and it's going to be key because we know this Conneticut sun is trying to continue to pick up wins to help them with seating and it's going to be horrified but don't just listen to us we got our guy coach CT Miller there with the pregame presser hey coach DJ from infinity TV big game tonight and we talked about a lot of things in the first uh go round uh tonight just if you could pick one metric what would be that could improve what would uh that be our level of successfulness for tonight one it's like asking a long talker about one thing but um you know if I had to say one thing um definitely our turnovers have been a factor in this series um if you look at the other 11 teams that have played Connecticut this year we're averaging the most turnovers a game against Connecticut um we're averag in over 20 turnovers a game we know that 40 approximately 40% of their scoring comes either off offensive rebounds or um generating points off of opponent's turnover so those two things continue to be top of mine but if you made me narrow down um us executing offensively as our first and most important line of defense that's uh no live ball turnovers that's shot quality um you know those kind of things could really help uh our defense that was not bad the other night but again when you turn it over 20 times against Connecticut it's hard to take away something that's so important uh on a game plan to take away from them hey coach Jackie Jackie TV so Ria's growth spurt has been phenomenal are you surprised about how fast fast and how quickly she's growing and what do you attribute her quickness and getting acclimated to the leag to again um I've shared numerous times that I want to Echo that um the growth from May basketball for RIA to September basketball in season in a tough um Cadence of games the shortest training camp in the history of the league um is is so you know encouraging on where her ceiling and stardom can be for us in this league really really impressed with how much she's improved in season uh you tribute it to First you start with her um her willingness to get in the gym and work her willingness to um invest time with the assistant coaches with film um her willingness to work on her game she deserves a ton of that credit I also want to shout out the assistant coaches that are spending time with her on skill development on film prep um you know it all plays a part of it um so just really really proud of Ria um you know we know who we are we know what our record is and obviously she's getting the media attention that she deserves but it would be even larger if we were a playoff team uh because her ceiling uh she's just scratching the surface as much as she's improved defensively she's still got you know growth um is much of her offensive skill set at multiple levels she's showing you she can be even better so I'm just really excited about her future we're very fortunate to have her as a building block for us uh coach you're in a rare situation here where the team has a handful of games left but obviously the playoffs are no longer a possibility how does that change your approach or how you approaching these set of games knowing the ultimate goal is not possible but there's still work to be done with the amount of rookies and Veterans you have on the squad yeah I appreciate the the team um buying into what I'm talking about this week is our playoff week we have the unique opportunity to play Connecticut uh on back-to-back games not back toback days but back-to-back games and then when we start tomorrow with Seattle uh we play Seattle back-to-back game so for us this is an incredible opportunity for us to experience what playoff basketball will be like not being in the playoffs so we're approaching it that way we're talking a lot about adjustments from game one to game two so um Sunday was game one today is game two and we're going to approach it that way we've made subtle adjustments um we have plans on how they defended us and things that we want to look for tonight offensively and obviously on the other side of the ball we're going to do the same thing with Seattle we're going to play them and prepare the best we can on a on a back to back and then as we turn the page towards the weekend game against Seattle that that's game two so this is our playoff week I know that sounds silly to you guys but that's how we're approaching it I love the Buy in um we don't get to experience the playoffs this year but this to us is our playoff week question um so obviously Derica got off to a tremendous start to the season it's been a little bit less excellent since the Olympic break uh is that just you attribute that to the fatigue of you know what she had to do in Paris and then everything that's going on in her life right now or anything else yeah I mean I I don't think there's one factor right dear has carried us um while her numbers um have you know crept lower when you look at why she deserves flat out deserves the the most improved player in the league her shooting percentages are up her her you know her points are up her rebounds are up every statistical category are is up and to me uh most improved is not a one area Improvement you know the most improved player in my opinion should have a diversity of improvement and she checks the Box in every single area so while she's come back a little bit um after playing in the Olympics you know and and coming back and carrying the load and being our go-to player obviously the the attention is really focused on D as our go-to player and Ria and so dier gets out a lot of the attention the other thing is nice is you're seeing the growth of other people you know a lot of those a lot of what was asked of early in the year was without azire uh she missed 20 games she missed half the season so you know like she didn't have a partner in crime uh or a veteran post player with her um you're also seeing um the development and the rise of Lee Lee's gang so everything contributes to that but I don't want it to diminish just because our numbers have come back a little bit in certain areas de' Hami on a 12th Place team I don't care what place we're in should be and statistically says it should be she should be the most improved player in the in the League this year any and someone post that thanks we are back uh DJ we just heard from coach and Coach is really like hey we need to execute to win these basketball games how can they execute tonight you got to defensively do the things that he's saying not allow slippage stay on the ball play great on both ends of the floor I like the fact that coach talked about offense because that will save us at the end of the day we played great defense up until you know the 20 turnover thing but if we had a better offensive game the points could have racked up a little bit more and we could have overtaken them and I'm happy that coach mentioned turnovers because when we were watching we were counting just these bad turnovers where lazy pass there lazy pass there like fixing that tonight is going to be vital and it all starts with your point guard Odyssey Sims what what can we expect from Odyssey tonight fast play my favorite kind of play that's street ball she going to push the ball up the court she's going to also uh get some steals defensively I think she's going to do a lot more to l on that side same thing with Chrystal Dangerfield who also had herself a game in contributing to the Sparks with some great assists so um I think that tonight our point guards are going to distribute the ball well make some smart passes and then our shot K was going to be a lot better yeah and it's going to happen also it needs to happen on the defens end last game he said keep them under 75 they got just over it they have to make it tough on you know at who gave them a triple double for the sun stopping her is going to be vital for this win tonight so before we go and you guys get to check out all of the interviews and post game stuff we got to give you our players of the game who do you think is going to shine right the loudest tonight for the Sparks I'm going give it to azire we didn't hear a lot from Z in the first one but something tells me that that Championship mentality that she has that uh experience that she has is going to kick in and she's really going to step up to give us something tonight for me I'm going to stick with Odyssey Sims I think that she's going to say hey I need to come and get some buckets early get the team going push the tempo do some things defensively to slow this team down and she's going to give them a fighting chance to pick up this upset Victory DJ it's going to be fun I hope yall ready I'm ready it's going to be great Alex Sparks weekly hey we see you guys after the game what's going on Alex Parks weekly you already know me is DJ trcy T and I am here with Crystal Dangerfield of the LA Sparks Crystal welcome to the show it's your first time thank you thank you um so our first question I want to ask you is finding your way to La walk us through a little bit of your hardship journey and what it meant for you to really lock in with the Sparks this year um I think it's really just making your mind up just go make an impact wherever you show up however it happens um they called and asked if I was interested and I told them yeah and then it's been a long uh 7day thing and then they asked me if I wanted to say for the rest of the season I said heck yeah so different words but yeah yeah yeah and you know coach Miller talks a whole lot about how much uh you are working with the team and like learning the plays and how difficult was it when they gave you that call to come in and learn a new system there are a lot but they all did a great job my teammates assistant coaches um while he was going um during the Olympic break they all did a great job of talking me through it where I need to be and then me learning their spots where they like to be on the floor awesome and last question you had a hot game the the first time we played Connecticut how was it playing against like players like danana boner and D Caron and all that these players that play really aggressive and Up Tempo you really showed up like how do you keep doing that well first foremost I love playing against danana I don't even know know if I've ever gotten a chance to tell her that but I I feel like she's a living legend I love being out on the floor with her love being around her in general but just playing a good team like Connecticut that's always going to get your juices FL when you want to try to come out and get a win tonight awesome you heard it here first LA Sparks weekly DJ trcy T and Crystal Dangerfield [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] a [Music] a [Music] what's going on LA Sparks weekly it's DJ tresy T and I am here with Kia nurse Kia it's been a minute since we talked I think it was a little bit after the Olympic break and a lot has in basketball has changed so far in the season how are you feeling about um where you are and your contribution in uh on the team here you know what I'm I'm coming along and I think for me personally it's been continued journey of you know feeling more like myself and um being able to come into the season and do whatever the team needs me to do be a Pres Pro so um right now in my role coming off the bench I think I'm doing a pretty good job of bringing the energy and keeping the leadership as strong as I can and that's what I'm here for you talked about being a pro and that's one of the things that coach Miller loves about you he talks about it all the time so what is it like having to shift different roles I know at the beginning of the Season you played a different role and now you're kind of just jumping in and and and rolling with the punches what's been your favorite role so far this season with the Sparks oh man I don't mind any of my rules that I'm in but I do love the leadership role it's been a different challenge for me I'm typically a person who kind of just by example there's a lot of vocal people around me and they do all the Talking um but it's for me this year I've had to step up in the vocal side of it as well and be someone who kind of speaks up when things are tough or when we're in adversity or even when things are good so I've really enjoyed that challenge it's been something that I've I've had a great time with and I have a great group of people to work with and this team um to help get better and grow in that so I think that's been my favorite role so far I love that so be vocal and tell us what we're going to do tonight what do you think is the key to the rematch tonight against the Connecticut sign well I think it's um you know we had film sessions we looked at a couple different things that fourth quarter kind of did us in a little bit there and in some tough turnovers um but I think this is a team that we have an opportunity here if we play well and we can keep the score kind of low because they play a slower game they like to play in the half court get out and transition a little bit for us um and defensively we have a couple little different execution keys that I can't give to you right now but I think that'll be a good part of it and also just on a side note as a TV person that was a fantastic transition that was really good thank you so much I a compliment for a compliment La spks weekly you heard it here first make sure you stay tuned to the episode DJ trcy TR and Kia nurse [Music] m [Music] in 3 2 1 sh yeah everybody see [Music] [Music] here you [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] for your Ang number 6 5 [Music] 3 everybody want to everybody with the all right here we go you ready somebody SC [Applause] [Music] what's going on LA Sparks weekly it is halftime and the Sparks are down 32 to 43 we played some really solid basketball in the first quarter but that second quarter we let way too much slip Bri Jones Marina ma DJ kingon are causing us a little bit of problems but Ray barell just hit a three at the end to take us in the halftime stay tuned for way more basketball on LA Sparks weekly [Music] a [Music] board for ticket information but you can also get your tickets right now at La sparks.com don't forget Miss again thank you for coming out We Wish You A we'll see you right back [Music] [Applause] [Music] great time Make Some Noise y'all see you back tomorrow hope you enjoy SP [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yo what's up guys we are here and it happened again the Sparks come up short 8666 20o loss to the Connecticut Sun um it was tough they started off looking solid and then the rest of the way it was all Connecticut Sun but I guess you can have some positives we got some great sound bites from coach we going to get you later on but I'm mik kill Matthew we here with Ellie Sparks weekly with the one and only DJ trcy T what happened so like exactly what you said that first quarter I'm like all right we competitive second quarter all the worst case scenarios happened and then I thought for sure we was going to come out of halftime with a new attitude then it was like watching the second quarter all over again but I will say that we picked it back up in the fourth quarter so you got to give you know a little credit when credit is due we normally say they play three quarters and then you know the fourth one they slide well today they only played two and that's where the 20 point deficit was that was and it made it tough uh shout out to Crystal who knocked down some shots there in the fourth quarter coach you're going to hear him talk about it in the presser building building building yes it's tough for fans and stuff out there but he said it all along like we knew where we were coming into this year then you deal with the injuries uh this the illness to Alexi Brown and you know you just have to adjust to that so a game like tonight they tried shout out to rille who started off really fast has once again 13 points uh she ends up with 16 she was what at 1.6 for six I would like to see rakia get more into her playmaker bag because she had three assists tonight I think that she can do it what was your thoughts on what we saw from Ria Jackson tonight she actually said she was working on that with the coaches um and learning how to distribute the ball more that's the next piece of her game so I'm excited to see what that looks like but you know what I'm loving about R the fact that she is not afraid to face up any person her um she told us uh in the last game that she looked up to danana Bonner and she took a big step back and took a three and hit it today right in her face so that's the kind of player that we got I'm excited for her to be a building block on bringing championship basketball back to LA yeah and you know she's going to continue to play hard and one thing you can say with this team is that sometime when shots aren't falling they're playing with some positive energy It's just sometimes things don't go right especially when you're the team that's not as talented con Connecticut Sun are going to be there at the end they going to be a team fighting for they were there last year at the end y'all for them to the Sparks to fight how they did the last game on Sunday and get so close into the fourth quarter then to show some stuff in the first quarter it's just just a team that's a worst team in the league going through some hard times but you have to keep the Hope because some of the young pieces are showing Zia cook Zia cooked did some things that was positive she made some mistakes in the first half but second half making some shots she did some solid things so that was a good thing to see what you think about seeing Zia out there I was excited to see Zia out there Z always brings the energy she brings a new flavor to the offense um she has that that craftiness is the word that I'll use because it's not mostly like going with the plays it's finding a way and hunting that shot that coach talks about so I'm always excited to see Zia out there another person I was excited to see play was AAR Stevens didn't I tell you I was feeling Z the game she went Dennis robman mode on on the rebound so 10 points 17 rebounds um one of the career highs probably for her we got to check the stats but she did her thing was dominating the board she talked about being aggressive but don't just listen to us yes a a was able to tell us after the game her and Christal dangel field and Coach Kurt Miller with the postgame Presser started opening stat from first as you guys know uh we talked about with the team and and with you guys that have been covering us that we were trying to treat um this second game as kind of a playoff series with Connecticut and I thought when we came out in the first quarter I thought we did a lot of um things that we wanted to accomplish and you know I I looked looked at the staff um near the end of the first quarter and said you know we we really look connected and playing good basketball um and felt like we made some good adjustments going into what we considered our game two of the playoffs um unfortunately that start of the second quarter um you know an 80 run in the first 80 Seconds um you know with a Mis coverage and turnovers and a couple things you know really put us on our heels and you know those are the kind of stretches that have shaken our team right now when we're in this build and in this stretch and I thought that really set the tone uh for a second quarter that got away from us which then um kind of um had us go into halftime you know feeling not as good as we should because of how well we played the first quarter um I thought you know Marina had a really good game against us but um we just never could really make a run at them in the second half to make them feel us um but you know some positives through that you azire had a monster defensive rebounding night um we were scrambling for records to see you know who in franchise history has ever had more than that and I think maybe Candice is the only person that's ever had more defensive rebounds than nazare so big shout out talked about the three-pointers tonight wanting to take more and and hunt more threes I thought for the most part we did uh that I thought we even passed up some and then Crystal got hot so appreciate Crystal continuing to hunt for threes like we asked um and and had you know what I consider her best performance as a spark with with us this year so um you know some some good moments in that game but certainly not enough to come away with the win so we look at that as our first playoff series and we didn't get through it now we get to start this next one against Seattle this is not easy with a third game in four days um and now a backto back ever uh but we'll regroup and and start to prepare for a talented Seattle Team tomorrow for game one of what we look like in in that what we're considering our playoff series with Seattle questions for players hey um as a ra just your aggressiveness uh tonight you were able to put up 13 shots get in the 17 rebounds like what did you see out there that made you come into this game like I'm going to be very aggressive um I mean I like the matchup against Breezy like obviously she's really talented but I I mean I'm a quick like agile post and so I mean I played against her for a few years now and I I like to exploit that so I think the team did a good job of just giving me the ball and we were moving and and just trying to like just like they were doing mismatches against us we have the same amount of mismatches um so I I mean I just tried to be aggressive and I think the team plays better when I'm aggressive even if I'm not making everything but just coming out being aggressive is something I'm trying to do hey he this one's for you as well um obviously it's late in the season it's been kind of ups and downs but there's been some positive are you guys feeling some physical and emotional fatigue right now and how are you guys lifting each other up right now yeah for sure I think it's a tough season obviously that's no secret um we're out of playoffs now like there's a lot of negatives but but there's a lot we can be building towards too um a lot of us are going to be returning next year and even the ones that aren't it's still an opportunity to grow as a player in this league and prepare yourself for whatever opportunity is next so we've talked about that after a lot of these games just like what are ways we can stay positive and continue to build um for those of us that are coming back next year and even the ones that aren't what are ways that we can continue to pour positive energy into what we're trying to do and finish this year with pride like who cares about the record at this point like we want to walk off the court that last game feeling good about representing the sparks in in the in the best way possible I'm also short hey uh DJ from infinity TV Crystal we had a chance to speak before the game and you talked about finding your way to the Sparks uh through hardship how does a moment like tonight feel to reinforce you know all the hard work that you put in to get some of that payout back um that's like a Ved question for me but I mean it feels nice um um you know my teammates I'm trying to pour into them and they pour back into me so whatever minutes I get out there on the court I'm just going to go go as hard as I can and tonight it just came to FR and his points and I just like to point out that she's a Husky and huskys are the best hey coach DJ infinity TV um so with the pieces being moved we've talked a bunch you know about hardship and different things that are happening and you're treating this like the playoffs and again like the pieces are moving around and we're finding different matchups how do you feel going into this matchup against Seattle coming from this uh this part of the game yeah you know I haven't I haven't turned the page in Seattle yet still you know I got this game on my mind but obviously quick turnaround um you know we've played uh I've been in a lot of playoff games and uh you know the turnaround from one series to another when when you advance is not always short and so these are the kind of things that you got to turn the page and and and be ready so we're going to treat it well it's not easy to play three games in four days in this league it's certainly not easy to play back to back uh but I think you know I got a group that has always been willing preparer uh they're going to prepare and and we're going to we're going to coach them like we are fighting for a number one seed uh we're we're going to continue to prepare hard um and it's a good test you know they they got Dynamic players um a lot of you know a lot of Olympic type players um and so you know we look forward to the challenge that Seattle brings I'm not sure if they were there I heard they might be there in person tonight so I'm not sure if they were in the stands or not um but um you know we'll get back to work uh tomorrow coach you talked about um just preparing like it's a playoff series a few times um and you talked about you know your coverage against Marina last game did you change that at all and why do you think she was able to have success today yeah um you know we we changed um different coverages within the game but but we played the coverage that we had success getting the ball out of our hands tonight I thought uh she played with a better Tempo um and um you know just exploited some of our our uh mistakes defensively you know again she just gets an inch she's such a good scorer um and then you know as she got hot um you know it's hard to cool her down and she starts to make the contested shots that's what makes the elite players in our league so special is a lot of players in our league make open shots I the elite players make contested shots and you could tell she got into one of those flows tonight where uh she was really comfortable and we we guarded the ark okay they were three for 13 or two for 13 I think uh beside her uh but her ability to you know give them three points is so big because um again they didn't have a great night at the ark outside of her so disappointing at times some of the lack of um uh some of the slippage we had in our coverages but we tried to change it up and give her different looks um throughout the game um hey coach obviously you know what it means to build a team injuries played a huge part in this season but of course you growing pains are a thing but for you specifically is there anything that keeps you up at night about anything that's happen this far in the season yeah and I mentioned it probably a couple weeks ago that um again I I pride myself in unintended consequences um you know the the amount of injuries and illnesses we've had in these first two years um have been daunting um but you know again the unintended consequences I've always you know looked at the positives of opening the opportunities up for other players you know Connecticut it seemed like every year we had a major starter out for the season or out for a significant part of the season and it open the door um you know for other people and Bri Jones is a perfect example um you know when when JJ opted out of the bubble you know just continued to allow her more and more opportunities and she just kept getting better and better and by the time she was in her fourth and fifth year she's now a perennial Allstar and uh you know one of the go-to players so you know what keeps me up a little bit at this uh with this team is um you know I've always prided myself to regardless of the injury and illnesses in this league is you know can you overachieve um and can you help people um that now are maybe getting a different opportunity or even more enhanced role to take advantage of it I just I I just haven't always pushed the right buttons for this team uh to overachieve I I feel like we are good enough to play with teams for three three and a half quarters but we've struggled to get to the Finish Line at times so that that's that's on you know that's what I you know lose sleep at at times because this locker room has great people in it it's frustrated there's you know that's human with with the losses that we have but this locker room has great people in it we have a lot of people that are committed to coming back um and I just want them to experience um you know some Joy I want them to experience a win again because they haven't stopped working they haven't stopped preparing um you know so you know that that's you know I wish for them you know to to feel some Joy before the end of the year coach um you kind of just alluded to my next question you know you guys haven't really been able to put together for all four quarters so looking ahead to your next playoff series and even you know next season how are you trying to get your team to overachieve like you said yeah I think uh you know the the big the big catch words around um the team recently are discipline um you know Focus um you know and you know we Reagan just spoke to to the players and and talked about um you know Finding joy and and you know some of the message was not letting you know one mistake slippage snowball and you know that that's that's our big growth area these last five games is that we can't let a couple mistakes a couple bad plays a couple poor decisions turn into um you know a quarter that gets away from us or a segment in the game that gets away from us um that's important for this team we are we have fine line there's thin line between you know we have fine line between um you know winning and losing right now and so we just got it to avoid some of these um stretches where people have bigger runs on us than we'd like question coach excuse me coach uh as you said your the team has been decimated by injuries um with the challenges that this season has brought to you a how's your mental health and B what's bringing you Joy uh I love living in the South Bay I live in one of the greatest places in the world and one of the reasons that um you know La was such an attraction for me um despite coming off that you know finals appearance again with Connecticut um you know I love um people that I work with I'm very fortunate um you know I I I've had two GMS in the first 15 months but to have rean as as my boss and rean and I once worked together as assistant coaches and someone that has been a coach and understands what coaches are going through um you know that brings me joy that I'm working with really good people um I'm telling you what can't be seen is when I got here there there was um issues and there was things that were for lack of better word a little bit in disarray and the roots that have started to form and and the the work behind the scenes and the work of our president who's going to be do terrific things for La um to watch you know Reagan's first year as a GM like I think about back in my first year as a GM I I didn't I had no idea so to see what she's doing already and and you know how she communicates with the team how she communicates with agents you know is just really encouraging to me that she's going to be really a bright star in the GM role so the the roots that are s that are in place the um support uh the investment and the commitment that Eric has right now as our owner is greater than it's ever been and all those things you know aren't going to be in the media they're not going to be seen on a daily basis but we're feeling them and where we are now compared to when I got here um we're is the roots are so much stronger and so um we've got to be patient never easy for fan bases never easy for us you know like I'm not I'm I'm a builder and built a lot of programs but I'm not used to losing either you know and so um you know we're going to get there though and I'm proud of the work behind the scenes that isn't as seen as much on what's going on it's going to pay off I can't tell you when um I understand that um I'm I I can have honest talk but you know really doing good things behind the scenes thanks thank we're back we just heard some powerful things coach had a lot of great things to say I'm happy that his mental was right you know he this is new for him he's adjusting to losing the way that this team is but it's always about the bigger picture and it looks like him and uh GM Reagan is they understand and they're working together for this but we spoke about a she said hey this Bree Jones match up is something I knew I can attack I had to be aggressive it led to 10 points 17 rebounds what made her spe uh performance so special tonight I think it was just that aggressiveness like you know when you go up against matchups again she's also from Yukon so you know she playing her her Alma M's home state in that h take over right seriously her and Crystal danger field so I think when you get excited about those matchups you play better again we talk about the Sparks always winning against better teams you know we beat the New York Liberty this year we beat the aces twice this year so that's two of the top two teams not from just this year but from last year as well that we found a way um to beat and they they had a lot of their existing players so you can't really be mad because our pieces aren't the same as they were at the beginning of the season they aren't the same as they were last season so we're rolling with the punches as much as possible but I love the fact that coach talked about growing some stronger Roots yeah and you know he was deep into his positive speech bag and telling us that he's doing okay and he's not breaking down he's like it's about the roots first and then it's going to sprout into a nice beautiful tree so that's what the hope is here for you Sparks fans I know it that's what we're hopeful for we think it's going to happen but it's going to take a day at a time game at a time off SE at a time but hey we got to talk about this game we can't leave it without giving our players of the game and I'm going to I guess we probably got it the same so I'm going start it off it's AER Stevens 10 points 17 rebounds she was very aggressive she was able to get up 13 shots she was taking any opportunity that she can in a game with so many negatives she did some positive things so shout out to Z who you got as a Ray Stevens you know I love so much about her saying that she was being aggressive she she a even look aggressive I would hate to see if she like really like like went aggressive on it you will never see that man she might had 30 30 boards but again I was right at the beginning of the game got to call myself Pat myself on the back as did a great job I knew she was going to pop out today because that first game she didn't she had like a little bit of a silent game she rebounded really well and um made a name for herself tonight she was looking like Angel Reese out there on the board so shout out to Z up next NECA in the Seattle sky sky was at the game already covered up scarfed up like I need to see what's going on but it's going to be a fun game to see NECA back it's going to be great times I hope y'all here because it's always a great time here at the Sparks game we're in our lose because DJ MOSI sets the pace so I hope you guys are here Michael Matthew DJ try T Ellie Sparks weekly we catch you guys tomorrow