After a devastating loss to open the season on Saturday, the Fever bounced back strong Wednesday with a 106-100 win over Phoenix and they look to continue that success tonight, when they face Dallas.
The team looks to build on the strong points from Wednesday, which Coach Marianne Stanley said wasn’t pretty at times but they did a good job against a very good team. “I’m just really, really pleased, she said. “There was times where it wasn’t so pretty but we We wanted to improve our defense and we gave up 100 points but I feel like everyone really did their best, we had a little bit of trouble with their three-point shooting early in the game but the second half was much better.”
Throughout the week, Stanley has stressed how happy she was with the team chemistry and how they played as a team and said what we saw Wednesday night is what she’s been seeing all season long in practices and since they got to the Wubble.
As far as rookies Kathleen Doyle and Lauren Cox as well as veteran Eric Wheeler, Stanley said the team looks forward to having them back sooner rather than later.
“We need them,” she said, but she isn’t willing to rush their return and have them miss more time because they weren’t ready.
“Generally, what I’m most proud of is our effort and our focus,” Coach says about their win Wednesday night. “We played as a team out there; it didn’t matter who was in there- we played hard. I was really happy with Teaira McCowan; she came up big, I thought this was a game where she could play well in the matchup against Griner. It’s something I know she was excited about but it was also a good matchup for her.”
As far as Lauren Cox and when she could return, Cox told media Friday afternoon that she won’t be on the court against Dallas tonight but she hopes she can get in and get some minutes soon.
“I’ve been able to do pretty much everything except get up and down the court,” she said. “I’m definitely getting there and a big part of it is getting into games even if i’m not 100%.
She said it may take just getting up and down, getting minutes and conditioning down but that she’s really looking forward to playing with Teaira McCowan and getting that high-low relationship meshing.
There’s a lot to look forward to tonight when the Fever and Wings tip off at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network as both teams are 1-1 and looking to go above .500 on an already-shortened season.
Both teams are young as well and eager to show the rest of the WNBA that they’re a force for the playoffs.
-Reggie Edwards
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