Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Christie Sides postgame after Fever loss to Lynx ending win streak

finding that line between getting emotional and getting away from you if that makes sense yeah I mean I think there's definitely a line um I thought it was frustrating I thought I got f a couple times there in the second half on mid-range jump shots and I mean it it happens sometimes they get call sometimes they don't it is what it is I think I settled a little bit too much for mid-range jump shots but um like I said I thought I got bumped a little bit and I was honestly trying to shot them to get them to foul me um but I mean I think I could have done a little bit better job controlling my emotions but I think it just started bad for us and then continued to snowball and that's something we had to control a little bit better um not only like did we not execute on the offensive end in the third quarter but I thought they destroyed us offensively um our defense wasn't very good so I think just improving in that area and just all kind of gathering our emotions a little bit better and finding better shots um I thought we kind of stopped playing in a way that made us successful in the first half so um just a good learning opportunity for us um I still I feel like we could have played a lot better um but yeah I mean I think there's a line and sometimes your your passion your emotion can can get to you but that's never any something I I would ever change or anybody on our team would change so go Chloe than Christine yeah Kaylin you mentioned you know how everything started the snowball just what do you think you guys need to do to just stop the bleeding in that instance um I mean I think it starts defensively I think get a stop I mean it's going to be hard to win a game game when they outscore You by 17 points in a quarter it's impressive that we got it back to one point um and honestly I thought we played really good in the fourth and my turnover in transition is what I felt like really kind of ended the momentum for us I think it was 78 77 I got a block in the steel and we were running a transition and honestly made just really bad breed um I thought the girl was going to come over she never end ended up coming over so um I think defensively is where it has to start uh our first quarter defense was really good every quarter besides that was eh third quarter was bad um so I think just continued to get better but we had moments especially the begin of the fourth quarter too that were a lot better than the other other two you know Christine and Brad yeah going back to that the fourth quarter when you guys the crowd was going absolutely crazy as loud as I think I've heard it here and you're hitting everything for both of you Kelsey and Caitlin just can you describe that feeling as you're reeling them in and all of a sudden you're down by only one point C you start I think it's a it's a really amazing feeling when you when you when you a competitor and you have you know the city at your hands and feet and they supporting us you know when lose a draw it just makes you go harder um it makes you appreciate the moments a little bit more um I think as a group we appreciate the energy um it's unspoken but we appreciate it we try to use that as fuel to kind of like get the next stop or get the next one now I won't want any other way I appreciate who our fans are and what they bring to the table for us for real it's appreciated got Brad we got Matt Kelsey first quarter for you for you guys what did you like about the start strong start pretty much here first first quarter first half yeah I think our start was pretty effective I thought it was a high paced game I thought C Square set us up um from a PG standpoint to get us into that pace um and play confidently in in in space in Pace I mean we were getting stops too and I think that helped but I always say the minute we stop getting stops you see fever kind of like tanker you know we kind of Plum if I think that that's our next maturation I think playing a team like Minnesota that is our gauge that's our standard and I think that we can continue can get better from what you saw today based on um those down the stretch getting those stops and getting those next rebounds we got to be better and I think that's our next maturation defensively matth on Michael yeah Kelsey being a veteran uh of this team just what do you think you can learn the most um from A Loss like this you know after five wins then lose but you know you still have a lot of games love to play I think that from a leadership standpoint I think we H H ourselves together as a group to say you know shut up and work um lead the rest out of it obviously um but get to the next play get to the next get to the next action get to the next set use this as fuel for our next game and um as a leader you want to make sure we kind of stay on a confidence and positive note we've already seen what the results was tonight so we use it um and then we P to the next page got Mike and then we go Jacob on the right again yeah Caitlyn this is the only team you guys have lost to uh is Minnesota obviously they're one of the top teams is there are there things maybe you've learned specifically from playing this team in the two games that you guys that can help you go into yeah I think honestly like I think they're the hardest team leag guard probably I think their movement is incredible the way they play is incredible it's how basketball should be played um I think our matchup is so good for it's yeah our matchup is just great for for basketball too like if you want to watch two teams that play basketball the right way it's this play Up Tempo you share the ball it's not sets all the time like they run great action they run great ball screen stuff they space the four all five of them can shoot at all times it's hard to guard especially when they're running clear side pick and roll with fee like she demands so much attention and then you're stunting at you're guarding three or four you're guarding three three-point Shooters with two people there's only so much you can do and Carlton makes us pay especially there late and we're closing out to her doing our best so um I think for us is just you got to play a step ahead you know what they're going to do you got to be over there earlier um and we had some possessions where we were really good but at the same time like we gave up 34 points in the paint and this is a team that loves the three-point line so we just we got to either make them shoot more threes we got to guard the paint a little bit better but at the same time we need to score in the paint more like that's not an area that we did well tonight is we have to beat them in points in the paint and we can't tie with them so last year Jacob don't finish with Christine again Kelsey you just mentioned you guys needing to to take another step do you I mean Minnesota's one of the top teams maybe a playoff match up for you guys do you kind of view this as all as like a a measuring stick or maybe a level you guys need to get to now oh definitely I think that was just the conversation in our locker room um amongst our vets like Timmy and U KY Lou um they definitely said that this is the standard and um you want to compete at that next level and be a part of a play playoff run not just getting there not just being part of it but making a run and making an impact we G have to use this as leverage um and know that you know they're the best and in order to beat the best you got to compete every night and I think going use the film um on a positive note and keep going going forward Christine last one yeah Caitlyn um so the third quarter as you were describing you know it's intense and and you went to the bench for a couple of minutes um what are you doing Mally there to either calm down or or get yourself back uh you know fired up to then have the fourth quarter that you had yeah I think just kind of reset I think it felt from my standpoint that the three that the third quarter kind of got away from us like I looked up the clock and there was only 2 minutes or left on the clock and I think we had scored eight points um so I felt like we just continued to not really execute so I think just like get a quick breather knowing that I'm going to need myself into find a way to have a big fourth quarter for us and then I thought we came out and really responded in the fourth quarter so I think that is a positive to take away is we found a way to respond at the beginning of the fourth um and our last three minutes of the game wasn't great but you know if we limit everything in the third like we're in a really good position to be successful on the fourth so um you know I think I'm just happy our crowd like they really got behind us and helped us I don't know if we if we don't have them we probably don't even get back into it so um it was a lot of fun to have them but I think just kind of have a mental reset and get ready to play the fourth Christie kayin talked about in that third quarter there was a play where she thought she got fouled s around they got on and score and she was like sometimes there's the line between being playing with emotion and being emotional how do you I guess coach that or speak to her when it's like yeah you might have got fou with the game still going on yeah well that's that's pretty much what we talked about um you know that felt like playoff basketball and that's what I just kept telling our players like you know that's who they are they are a good veteran team um they came out in the third quarter and they got in our ass and when they did we didn't handle it very well and then we let the officials um rattle us as well and that's that's growing and understanding like if you just give a team like that a little bit they'll they'll take advantage of and that's what that's what we did but defensively we've just been much better since the break and I mean we gave up 80 points in three quarters I mean you just you don't give yourself a chance and a lot of it we just were watching a few Clips that's a lot of it was us we weren't where we were supposed to be just in like a FIV minute show but we weren't at the nail we weren't in 29 we weren't in hell we weren't in gaps um we let them get by us and with dribble penetration too much our goal is to contest every single shot we didn't we didn't get out on our closeth out and contest and they I mean they're a great shooting team Bill Keem then we'll go back to Christine coach um throughout your win streak you had that kind of consistent uh contribution from another player like Nelissa or tamy or Lexi just how important is it to get that fourth contributor either as a starter or Off the Bench yeah I mean that's huge you know I think tonight we um we were playing okay and then we got to that third quarter and got rattled and I think we just tried to do it ourselves a lot instead of the way that we've um been able to get out of those moments as of late when we've been able to stop people's runs um and we just let it snowball on us and that's something that we've been better at and that we've got to make sure that we clean up you know because this is someone we could possibly play and um just gave us a taste of what it feels like um to that playoff basketball so we just got to be ready for that ready to to Stop Those runs and not let just our emotions get the best of us go Christine then we go Matt chrisy so in the third quarter Caitlyn is is you know rubbing up the crowd and whatever but it's is clearly you know and she said it too getting you know there's that line right and you didn't want to cross it would do you say anything to her at that point do you would she she came to the bench obviously for those last few minutes of the third quarter and she then seemed to be fine as far as the fourth quarter emotionally right and just back in it is there a switch that you can kind of turn on and off or how how do you coach someone who's obviously the crowd is loving it right but clearly you also don't want to get have her get another technical follow whatever yeah and I think that's um you know she's just so passionate and so um she's just a hell of I mean her competitive spirit is like I mean it reminds me of Diana terasi I mean she's she's that and so when she just when she is upset or mad like that's what we've been you know we've been working on trying to figure out how to how to get past those moments you know um I was worried she was going to pick up a tea um in that third quarter and thank goodness that she didn't that's that's growth and she's got to learn that in those moments I need my point guard to have a cool head um get us in whatever we need to be in offensively and then you know if it's if it's not a foul call that you thought you got to get back you know you got to get back and transition and and help our team get stopped so you know we're working on those things that's that's what a young team that's what you do is you try to figure out talk about these moments watch them in video show them where you know okay this is this just can't happen cuz it caused this this and this there's a reaction you know to all of our actions and we've got to make sure that we don't put ourselves in a a worse spot with those kind of moments go down the line Matt Chloe James and Jacob yeah in the uh third quarter coming out of half uh Minnesota was forcing a lot of turnovers on the pick roll um you know just collap collapsing in that high action um from your viewpoint on the sidelines were you just actively wanting to change that was it maybe just realizing a little bit too late that you needed to change something what was kind of the no I think there was some times probably when we go back and watch we probably needed to execute something um that was a little longer you know we are second or first in the league and points in the paint or I think third or fourth but like we tied Minnesota who isn't very good at points in the paint I think they're maybe 11 or 12 and so we have to take advantage of where we have the advantage and I don't think I think there were times where we need to just come down execute get a paint touch and then play out of that and we were taking some early shots that didn't go our way and then long shots end up being long re bounds which is hard to get back in transition defense Chloe and James yeah Caitlin talked about a play in the fourth quarter where you guys were down one and then she tried to bounce the ball I believe it was to Tami and was intercepted pretty easily and how she thought that was a bad read just how do you try to coach her through that and kind of if she wants to take that shot herself yeah I mean she came right to the menchion talked about it that it was a bad pass bad decision I mean you know we just have to make sure we take care of that basketball in those moments like get a we have to get a good shot um have some good execution um and give ourselves a chance that I think that was even like with 16 seconds on the shot clock so you know we didn't even use up any clock when we cut it to to one but I mean she knows and and she will learn from it she's she's been learning from those kind of things um and we just got to move forward and and not make those same mistakes last two James and Jacob Chris you talked about feet before the game in the third quarter in particular what did you see from her that was making it so difficult to just contain some of the things she was doing yeah she went to the three and um we were uh she and she was trying to post us up which was tough and Lexi had was in foul trouble a little bit so she was trying not to be as physical um but that's just you just can't play that way with her and so we were trying to make some adjustments and get a big on her down there um but I mean when you have the ability to move someone like feed to play the three and then play the four according to whose guard them to get the advantage I mean that's just tough and that just as the defense you got to recognize those things early we're not we we're not there yet at nazing those things early enough and making our adjustments um you know we we talked about several things that we're going to need to do if this is who we are matched up with in the playoffs um she's just I mean she's a he of a player and her versatility is you know really tough Jacob last one Kelsey said that the message from some of the Vets after the game was that this is kind of the standard now coming up against a team like Minnesota is that one of the takeaways for you that you know if this is going to be a team you're going to play that this is a higher almost a higher standard now yeah I think um you know at halftime we were doing things okay I don't think we were doing them at the highest level that we've been doing them um and just you know Minnesota is the you know second third place team in the league right now um we're we're trying to be that we're trying to to get to the point where you know we you make mistakes against teams like that and they will punish you for them and we just make too many of those especially when we brought it back um and got it to within one and then also five um we had some really bad moments where we just didn't execute or didn't get a stop and they hit like four threes in the fourth quarter and had an an one I mean that's just you just can't let those things happen you know got to take those away and we put them at the free throw line too much that's discipline our foul discipline wasn't good we are when we're frustrated like that and we're getting beat in dble penetration we slap down I mean that's an easy call for an official and that's just that's just discipline things that we got to get better at all right thank you everybody