Los Angeles Sparks Coach Curt Miller, Rickea Jackson, Odyssey Sims post-game vs. Dallas

for players first obviously a disappointing result in the fourth quarter um another game where again we challenged them the beginning of the the start of the fourth quarter and you know frustrating to give up a 40 Point quarter um all growing pains for a team that needs to learn how to close and who to close with and and how to um find a way with our defense in the fourth quarter um as offenses um can you know they they just turned it up and we were unable to uh find some consistency at the offensive end so tough Learning lesson for them but all part of what they're going to have to go through our bench was terrific tonight led by Odyssey um 43 points Off the Bench um and uh again Ria with um a career high at the three-point line and and a tremendous game but have to get her the ball and find her opportunities in the fourth quarter Ria's challenges in those fourth quarters playing these extended minutes now up over 35 um finding ways um you know to continue to find her places to be successful offensively start with questions for players only first go with infinity hey what's up Ras Michael mat here just you know what you get in your career high uh tonight and then after the performance you had last game was such a hot start just what type of GrooVe are you getting into offensively that that's allowing you to have these big outbursts and seeing so much improvement with your outside shooting um just being confident I feel like um coming to La like my coaches really helped on me like if I'm open at the three shoot it and that's something that um I kind of shot away from College I feel like but I always needed someone to like let me know that it's okay to do that so since they told me that I kind of just been working on it in the gym and things like that and just being Fearless around the arc because I feel like I am well I try to be pretty efficient um even though it doesn't go in and I try to get down on myself if I miss like two in a row so just like staying confident I feel like they've helped me with that and just instilled that confidence to me hey uh Odyssey DJ from infinity TV how did you feel tonight coming from your prior team where you were on a hardship contract and having such a big impact off of the bench and seeming like you found your spark here with the Sparks um you know I've been with the team for a short time but um I'm just finding my grp it was of course um special to play tonight come back home um the fans love me so of course I'm disappointed because I actually wanted to win more than anything two crucial turnovers by me so I'll take the take that um that one and it just got to be better Ray hey Ray morai from the sporting Tribune uh Ria have you uh since you've been on such a Groove lately uh have you done anything differently as of late to get off to get off to these good starts and odyssey um I know you're professional but was there extra motivation going against your old team tonight um no not really I mean I had some suffering toast this morning so I guess I'll just start eating those before every game and see what happens what was your question to me I'm sorry yeah I uh was there any extra motivation playing against your old team I know you're professional so I mean you know oh I mean it's the same approach as any other game like I said just wanted to win um these ones hurt because we were leading came down to the fourth quarter um where we just had to guard credit to Dallas they turned it up on us um tremendously in the fourth quarter scored a lot of points they were just pushing it pushing it pushing attacking um like I said we got to be better of course I'm happy to be here play in front of a crowd home crowd but definitely wanted to win so I'm still disappointed thanks lady sa travel home yeah um with such a talented movie class um why do you think your name is not mentioned with you know just I mean you hear a lot about the the ru class but you don't really hear your name often um and just watching you play you know I've seen you a couple times you know coming here and then I watch you from afar but why do you think that the name is not mentioned as much as what this would be glass that's a good question for the media I don't know I can't tell them what to do what to post I mean I'm a pretty chill layback person I feel like I don't have to force nothing I don't have to act out my body like you know if I'm hyped up in the game I'm hyped up in the game if I'm chilling in the game I'm chilling like I don't have to like do too much I'm just true to who I am and the people who follow me the people who support me they know me for me like I don't have to you know feel like I got to grab all this attention and things like that I'm just me and I'm just going to continue to be that and the people that's with me they just they just know that so but I feel like it's trending like the people I got you know I want to do it for the right reasons so I don't got to do too much a question I see you know just you know coming back here I know a lot of emotions come in I know you want to win but what um what you was your mindset coming into the game today and you know just seeing that first shot going in and then going on you know the score run you like how did you feel just overall just from the first time you shot the ball and then to the final Buzz um I mean I feel good I slept well I woke up and felt like I had a little pep in my step today um playing against my former team so of course I was ready to go but regardless how I play like I said just disappointed you know I wanted to win um you know I think we played very very well all game another one that we just let slip away um collectively as a group just got to be better finishing me I gotta do a better job of securing the ball just two crucial turnovers I feel like changed the game and kept Dallas with the momentum so um watch film learn from it and be better next game thank you ladies we'll get started with questions from Kurt hey coach uh so that that final possession there um you know with with rakia playing so well um throughout the game you you took her off the floor was that play Drew up to go through Stephanie uh to Stephanie talber there late in the game or was there any thought to say hey let let's let's play through rakia and kind of you know give her this this chance to try to you know bring us home so where R was in on the last play so I'm are you referring to the next the last yeah the the the the play before I mean sorry about that the next the last play yeah it's a a play that um you guys watch us all the time that we executed the other night in a in a uh crunch time um execution um step we were looking for a slip is our best slipper um so there was that um to put Steph in there Ria has to take the ball out and we made the decision for Kia to be able to make that decision but the next play that was a different type of play was run for rkia they took it away uh but the play the last play of the game was run for RIA we just they took it away and we had to go to a secondary option gotcha hey coach DJ infinity TV um knowing that you we're in this bill phase where we're playing a lot around with the rosters and and figuring out the best players to put in at the best time can you speak to the last couple of games and how Zia cook kind of fits into that mix for you yeah obviously Zia has to stay ready for her opportunity um you know we've been playing big lately and starting um Steph and Ria uh to give us some size obviously you still have the veteran um Kia nurse who can also play the two so you know just asking Zia to stay ready for her opportunity uh which she did the other night in in some fourth quarter minutes um so you know those are the things that that are growth for her um and she's just got to continue to keep grinding obviously um you know it's early in her career and it's she has to show it every day we don't get to practice at at full Tempo a lot but continue to keep improving thank you Jackie hey coach kind of just to piggyback off that obviously um today was a heartbreaking loss but looking forward how how confident are you in the lineup your starting lineup that you put in the mix today is that gonna do you think that might be the lineup that you stick with going forward yeah I mean we always evaluate o obviously Odyssey uh had a tremendous game um today her best game uh since she came back to the Sparks so she started the second half um you know played tonight um almost 32 minutes so you got you know tonight we rode her because she was uh playing so well so it's not always who starts um obviously you know at coming out of halftime Odyssey got that um got that call to be ready and you know again um she played well against her former team you she's from here she got a lot of family and friends in the stands and just really happy with the way she played that's good right hey coach so you've been closed so many times uh in terms of closing out what do you think is what do you think that needs the most Improvement in terms of the fourth quarter yeah tonight well it's 40 points um we didn't get any stops we shot 60% from the game 50% from The Arc and didn't win and got to the foul line 26 times our turnovers uh while a few uh that we'd love to have back in the fourth quarter you know weren't extremely high either but you know all game long uh we were worried about the runs that they could go on and that we know they're capable of and you know again the challenge at the beginning of the fourth quarter was really looking all five people that were starting the quarter and talking about how important these first two or three minutes were uh to set the tone when we had a big lead and and we just didn't get it accomplished and so you know the winning is learned win putting them in position more and more they got to continue to learn we've got to have some closers we keep talking uh about closing to dear and azay but obviously they're dependent on guards of getting them the ball and getting them in actions they can't always dominate from the post position and so we talked about you know how are we going to close and I thought you know that I thought that Odyssey could be a closer tonight for us Ria um you know could you know hopefully be a closer she started so well these last couple games I mean is showing you um just the absolute se you know ceiling and how good she can be in this league but when defense is turn up on her um and they make their adjustments at halftime you know we've got to continue to find Ria space and they try to take that space away and then Ria's big growth area is being able to play tired um as the game goes on and she gets extended minutes um you know it's it's it's not it's not a surprise how good she is out of out of the gate in the first quarter before defenses settle in Ria's challenge is to be when play when she's fatigued play when people are turned up and trying to take away her as the number one option that's all part of closing thanks coach the first quarter scoring 26 points what was the plan early to establish at a fast start yeah I think we wanted to play with uptempo I thought we we had a really good game plan to try to get Ria in the space um early I thought we executed that uh Rio is really comfortable at the three-point line um you know we coming off a game where we didn't shoot it real well at the three despite tons of uh open looks so we've encouraged that group to keep scoring we thought that azire could be uh a factor on the perimeter against maau tonight she made three threes so you know again um all real good out of the gate like listened to the game plan executed the game plan now we've got to find ways to have some toughness stops and closing ability in the fourth quarter thank you