Washington Mystics coach Mike Thibault reflects on their 2013 season

Mike Thibault on the full use of his roster over the year: "It’s by design because we have four rookies who are pretty good players. You use them. This has been a building year, this is not a make-or-break year for our franchise other than to get better. When I came in we brought in seven new players and I felt that we needed to play most of them to find out what we needed to do for the future. It’s turned out as a by-product to have the highest scoring bench in the league."

Thibault on Tayler Hill’s development: "She’s gotten double figures in seven out of the last 10 games [before this one]. She needed to get confidence, she needed to get used to the speed of the league. I felt that she put a lot of pressure on herself. She’s finally relaxed and slow down. Talent was never the question.

Thibault on why rookies sometimes struggle: "Sometimes it depends on position. Sometimes it depends on what kind of team you’re playing on. Sometimes it depends what the expectations are for that team. You have some teams where rookies are expected to be the saviors of the franchises. I told [Tayler Hill] that it would be unfair for us to put her in that position as the fourth pick of the draft."

Thibault on the acquisition of Ivory Latta: "I watched a ton of film on her in the off-season. The difference between her three years ago and a year ago and the parts of her game that had gotten better. This team didn’t have a true point guard before. Jasmine [Thomas] is more of a hybrid guard. We needed a pick-and-roll type of guard, someone who could get in the cracks, make a play, but who also could be a free-throw shooter."

For more on the Mystics' season, check out our Washington Mystics season storystream.