Breanna Stewart on physicality and her message to the newer fans of the WNBA:
"This is the best league in the world. No one is going to give you anything easy. The fastest, the strongest, the quickest - that's why this is the WNBA. Continue to pay attention to what we do"
Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones talk about Caitlin Clark's transition to the WNBA.
Jones: "I think the media needs to give her a little bit of grace and time to develop into a player. She's learning every game as she's out there."
Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart offer their congratulations to Sandy Brondello for becoming the first coach in WNBA history to lead her team to the playoffs each of her first 12 seasons in the league 👏
Sabrina Ionescu talks about Caitlin Clark's adjustment to the WNBA and hosting her on a visit to Oregon when she was deciding where to go to college
"I just know she's gonna continue to work really hard and stick with it. Good things will happen to good people."
"The Liberty definitely deserve this crowd. They've been incredible over the course of the last few seasons and they're gonna be incredible this year."
- Caitlin Clark
"We'll be able to shut up those people on Twitter that have anything to say about what's been going on with New York sports. As far as I'm concerned, we've been playing the best basketball that's been played in New York City for a very long time."
- Sabrina Ionescu
Breanna Stewart was asked about the Liberty earning a WNBA-record $2 million in ticket revenue from today's game:
"When I first started in the league, some teams weren't even making revenue... it's a long time coming."
Breanna Stewart talks about the importance of the Liberty hosting their pride game today:
"We continue to fight for equality and just live our lives unapologetically so that others can, too."
Sabrina Ionescu on the fan experience at Liberty games:
"I'm just happy it's creating an experience for people to want to come back and be a part of this, because I think it's super important for the community and for New York."
After 39 fouls were called in tonight's Liberty-Sky game, Breanna Stewart was asked if she likes when games have physicality:
"Honestly, I don't know how physical it was because they were just calling a lot"
Sandy Brondello was asked what her message to the starters was after the Liberty's 101-53 loss to the Sky in preseason action:
"They're experienced. I'm not telling them. They're embarrassed by the effort that we put forth. It's not the way we wanted to play"
Marine Johannès talks about the support of Tony Parker as she's about to play in her first WNBA Finals with the Liberty
"I'm really happy he's on my side. Supporting me, it's something great"
"With the crowd, playing at home, capitalizing on the energy we have here...it fuels me. I'm living in the moment, I'm having so much fun playing."
- Sabrina Ionescu
"We're wanting to do our best to play for her because she's a huge part of this team and we can't wait for her to come back."
- Sabrina Ionescu on Courtney Vandersloot
Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart comment on the atmosphere in Indianapolis tonight and the overall growth of the WNBA.
Stewart: "This is how you want every game to be."
Darren Waller, husband of Kelsey Plum, says he will be at tonight's Liberty-Aces game:
"It's gonna be a fight and I'm just looking forward to great basketball"
"They've waited so long to see this and we don't want to let them down."
Sabrina Ionescu talks about what it means to the Liberty to win a playoff game in front of their fans:
Sabrina Ionescu was asked about what she wants out of her 3-point competition with Stephen Curry:
"I think it's going to open up the door for many other opportunities to come, not only across basketball, but other sports as well. We both understand that's the door we're opening"
Breanna Stewart was asked about her chasedown block on Stephanie Talbot:
"The way that the fans reacted - it's amazing to have those type of blocks at home."
Breanna Stewart talks about being able to come back home from the Olympics and pick up where she left off before winning another gold medal:
"There's no excuses. Nobody cares if we just came off the Olympics and we have a game four days and a nine-hour time zone change."
Jonquel Jones was asked if she wants to join Sabrina Ionescu in the three-point contest at the All-Star Game:
"When they invite me, I'll do it. If they invite me, I'll be there too."
Ionescu: "Who said I was doing it?" 😂
"We have Betnijah Laney. What more could you ask? One of the best defenders in this league, if not the best."
Sandy Brondello on how the Liberty were able to defend Caitlin Clark so well tonight:
Breanna Stewart says she's been reading Brittney Griner's new book, "Coming Home"
"It's honestly inspirational every time I think about what she's been through and the way she's able to navigate it and still be playing basketball and playing basketball at such a high level."
Marine Johannes talks about tonight's game and how the team can bounce off of the crowd's energy:
"We are not in the finals every year and maybe this could be our last time in the finals, but we just have to enjoy this. Tonight we can use the crowd... we can use the energy."
"We've got to finish it - no ifs, ands, or buts. Tomorrow is a game that we have to take care of."
- Sabrina Ionescu on tomorrow's Game 2 against the Mystics
"I know I talk s--- and I know I was Sabrina's stuff and I know I took a few hard fouls on her. Even though I take that villain role in the game, I have a lot of respect for who Sabrina is, what she is to our league, who she is as a player."
- Natasha Cloud
Sabrina Ionescu shouts out Mikal Bridges for his support of the Liberty this season:
"He's come all season long, from the beginning to where we're at now, he's supported us. We're super thankful to have him and everyone else that showed up tonight."
On Sandy Brondello's birthday, Breanna Stewart talked about what makes her special as a coach:
"What makes Sandy special is the fact that she's human and she knows where our lives have been at because she's a former player...of course we wanted to get this win on her birthday"
"She's not in our locker room. To me, it felt kind of classless. You already won a championship...and you choose to essentially s--t on somebody else."
Jonquel Jones responds to Kelsey Plum's comments on the Liberty:
"We were just trying to huddle and
@sportsiren
wanted all five starters. At that point, we had the entire team there so we all just stood there" 😂
Breanna Stewart on the Liberty's full-team postgame interview:
Courtney Vandersloot shares how her team has been preparing for the WNBA Finals:
"You prepare as if this is your final chance... it's going to be a battle. This is the finals, we'll just lay it out on the line. You try to get an edge by knowing your matchup as much as you can."