Additional Quotes >> USA 96, Brazil 51

July 26, 2008 � Buenos Aires, Argentina

USA head coach Carol Owens
On the game:
I think we had the knockout punch in the first quarter. We put them back on their heels, and then they never recovered. We knew that they didn't necessarily shoot well from the outside, but we were concerned about their dribble penetration and their transition offense, so we sent two guards back every time to contain them. That cut their scoring in half.

I thought at some point in time we would start to hit from the outside. I think yesterday's game against Puerto Rico, who played a lot of zone, helped loosen us up. Some of our guards got going in that game, and it continued tonight. I was suprised that Brazil played as much zone defense as they did, but we handled it well.

On securing a gold medal finish:
Securing the gold medal with this win is really delayed gratification. We have one more game against Argentina on their home court. They have had a great crowd for all their games, and I'm sure tomorrow will be no different. We need to be ready to match their intensity.

Sarah Boothe
On the game:
We focused on containing their guards and their transition game, and our guards did a great job of getting back and doing that. We didn't want to give up any second chances and we wanted second chances on the offensive end, so our bigs were focused on the boards. I thought this was our best game so far.

Skylar Diggins
On the game:
I think Brazil was really trying to focus on our bigs, and so our guards were able to get open looks and knock them down early. We knew how big this game was in our run to the gold medal. We just tried to bring the intensity early and put the game out of reach. We got out to some fast break points and crashed the boards early, and that helped set the tone of the game.

On playing Argentina tomorrow:
We are focused on tomorrow. We know their crowd is going to be huge, and we won't be favored, but we are excited to play in that atmosphere. We need to make sure that we stay mentally focusued, so that the underdog doesn't have any advantage.

Kelly Faris
On the game:
Tonight we were able to execute the things the coaches have been harping on us for. In the last few games they set specific goals, and that's what we are working toward, cutting our turnovers, crashing the glass and keeping our intensity up. We are taking care of the ball and our effort is there, and it's showing on the court. We jumped on Brazil from the beginning, and we wanted them to know how hard we were going to play. We are not taking anything for granted.

Nneka Ogwumike
On the game:
We started with fire because we knew that they were definitely a talented team. We tried to run them instead of them running us, and that's what we did. We took care of the job, and it felt great out on the floor. Everyone was together, and everyone was playing hard. I would have to say it was our best game because we had less turnovers and more offensive boards, and we didn't ever let up.

On playing Argentina tomorrow:
We have one game left, and it's definitely going to be an interesting one because we are playing in there house. We want the gold undefeated, and that's really important to us.

Shekinna Stricklen
On the game:
We all really wanted to keep our winning streak going. I think everybody was focused, and we came out really hard on Brazil.

Joslyn Tinkle
On the game:
The coaches did a really good job of preparing us for Brazil, and that really helped tonight. They are a physical, fast transition team, but we really slowed them down. I think that was the biggest thing about tonight.

On playing Argentina tomorrow:
We are very excited we secured the gold medal, and we are really proud of that, but that's not all we wanted to do here. We wanted to go 5-0. Tomorrow is a huge game for us, and Argentina has a huge fan base, so it's going to be a big exciting game. We are all fired up, and we are really looking forward to leaving here undefeated.