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Nah, it didn't feel quite so rushed to me... except for the parts when Sayaka made her decision to become a magical girl so quickly. Then again, children can be rather impulsive.
But I think everything was done rather well, there was enough spacing in events and stuff.
Perhaps you should try the manga if you didn't like the anime? I haven't read it yet myself, but I believe it has more books than the anime has episodes.