Sonya Gaubinger Elliott – Eastern Washington University – 1987
A quote that has always been a driving force in the way I play basketball, and coach basketball, is, “Offense sells the tickets. Defense wins the games.” I LOVE defense. I love playing it, and there is nothing better than coaching or watching a team that plays intense and cohesive team defense.
Personally, I was not born a good shooter, which may have something to do with my preference for defense. But even as my shooting improved with practice, my defense is what got me into the game, and made things happen on the court, and I always had it to focus on if my shot was off. You can always play tough defense if you’ve got heart and hustle. And when you play tough defense, it will spread like wildfire to your teammates. And when each and every player on a team is working together, it is a beautiful thing.
When you’re on the court make sure to put as much, or more, energy into the game when you are on the defensive end of the court (or if you’re a coach emphasize defense), because if the other team can’t score, the final score will of course, be in your favor.
