Aug. 15, 2008 • Beijing, China

USA head coach Anne Donovan
On the game:
Great game.  Just what we were expecting from Spain.  We knew they were one of the toughest teams in our pool.  When they attacked us early, and went on that big run at the end of the first quarter, we knew we were in for a game.  Spain traditionally fights very hard.  Really, once they get on a roll, they ride that emotion and they did that throughout the first half.

I thought we regrouped at halftime and came back in the second half and really talked about defensive adjustments and getting back to what we’re good at, which is team defense and we did a much better job in the second half.  But, great game.  And for us, this is a good game.  This is what we want to have hopefully before we advance.

On Lisa Leslie’s influence on the team:
Lisa … just her experience, being a four-time Olympian and having to fight … a lot of her international career, we’ve really had to fight to maintain gold medal standards at the Olympics.  She’s been in games like this often and we lost her in the first half to a minor hip injury and that’s when the game turned for us.  We kind of lost control of it, if you will.  So, I think that alone speaks to the presence that she has on the court and the confidence she gives other people.  When we struggled at the World Championships, the big reason for that struggle was not having Lisa in the hole.  Behind our perimeter players, they know Lisa’s behind them and if they happen to get beat off the dribble, she’s there to at least change the shot if not block the shot.  So her influence on the court, you can’t put it into words.  And off the court, just her experience, internationally, four-time Olympian.  She sets the standard for sure.

Were you happy to get a real challenge for the first time in the tournament?
To see us struggle a little bit … honestly the first three games, we came out aggressive against China.  I thought that was going to be a better match for us.  Because of how strongly we came out, we kind of put China on their heels immediately, and didn’t get much fight from them.  So tonight it was great when Spain made their run.  At the end of the first half, we’re sitting there with a five-point lead.  To see how we’re going to respond in that situation.  We haven’t been tested like that; this team has not been tested so I think how we did respond and the experience that we have along with the young talent that we have was a good combination in the second half.

Who are you rooting for when Russia and Australian play?
I’m just going to be an interested spectator.  I can’t wait to watch that game.  We’re all basketball fans so the greatest matchups are the most fun for us to watch.  That’s one that’s been on our calendar for quite a while.

Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx)
On the game:
I think tonight was a very tough challenge for us, offensively and defensively.  I think we got our focus.  We played against a very tough team in Spain.  This is lessons learned and hopefully we take from this and move on to the next game.

On playing against Nuria Martinez, her teammate in Russia:
It’s always tough playing against Nuria.  I played with her the last two seasons in Russia, very competitive player, very tough player.  Great point guard.  As you can see, she got her team into the game along with Valdemoro and the rest of the players that played overseas in Russia.  Just a great player and knows how to get her team involved.

What changed in the second half?
It was our defensive energy.  I think we were up 19-4 and they made a run and that was from lack of defense.  I think they had maybe five 3’s in that second quarter alone.  We just focused a little more on defense and made sure we played team defense.  I think they did a great job penetrating and pitching and getting their shooters open shots.  I think it was mainly about shutting down the penetration and causing deflections and things like that, turnovers.

Sue Bird (Seattle Storm)
On tonight’s game:
It was kind of opposite of some of our other games. We got off to a really good start and then we had a little bit of a lull at the end of the first quarter going into the second. All that did was give them confidence. It was just a matter of coming out after halftime and taking that confidence back. I think we did that in the second half.

Do lapses like that worry you at all?
No, I’m not necessarily worried. I actually think it’s good that we played against a team that was able to fight back on us. Able to make us play for our lack of focus at times. So I think it’s good because we’re going to see teams that can do that can do that to us later on. For us to experience that now and know that we can bounce back from it is a good sign.

What do you know about New Zealand?
I know they’re very physical. They’re a team that’s not going to give up and they’re going to play hard for 40 minutes. For us, we’re going to have to match that. 

Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever)
On what she brings to the team:
My main focus coming into this Olympics is defense. We have a lot of scorers on this team, one through 12 we can all score, we all score for our individual teams back at home. But I think when you come to the Olympics, one of the things you have to find is your little niche. What it is that you can do really well to help this team get to where we want to be. We want to win a gold medal.

One of the things, when Anne (Donovan), Carol (Callan) and Renee (Brown) called me about making the team, they pretty much told me look, we need your defense. We need your intensity, we need the things that you bring on the defensive end. We love what you do on the offensive end, but that’s what we need. For me, I took it as a challenge. I want to come out here, I want to play against the best offensive player on the other team. I want to guard that person. I want to help this team.

Are there any newcomers you’ve taken under your wing?
Kara asks me a lot of questions, of course. She wants to know a lot. And even with Candace, all of them really. We all get along really well. You know how it is when you get 12 women from different areas, different stages of life, trying to bring them together in the couple of days that we’ve had, egos and all that stuff. Our egos aren’t that big, but I think sometimes it can still be tough. To have the players we have together, we all get along really well and we help each other out.

(Question inaudible)
Oh my gosh, I remember ’96. That was my first time watching the Olympic team. From that moment, watching Lisa (Leslie) and Sheryl (Swoopes) and Dawn (Staley), I thought, if I can ever make the senior team and play for a gold medal, that’s what I want to do. And I want to play with them. My first experience of playing with Lisa in 2002, I knew she was an effective player but I didn’t know how effective she was until I was actually on her team instead of having to go against her. She’s just a phenomenal player. Obviously in 2002 I had the opportunity to play with her, again in the ’04 Olympics. In ’06 she was out, but now this Olympics, just her presence out there brings a lot. A lot of people have to respect her game because of all the things that she has accomplished. You know she draws the defense, which opens it up for Candace and Sylvia and everybody else. I know our other post players have had good games but Lisa sets that tone from the beginning. Then when they come in, they kind of finish it off.

What changed in the second half?
Our focus, we definitely picked it up. Coming into the start of the game we really came out focused, ready to go. Then that last five minutes of the first half changed the game for us. We went in and talked at halftime and Anne was very disappointed with our lack of focus at the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter as well. In the second half she wanted us to focus, get back to team defense, I think we locked them down.

This is the first tight game for the U.S., can that be a good thing?
It’s a definitely a good thing. Coming out we knew Spain was going to be a tough opponent, Anne said this was going to be a huge test for us before the game and they definitely tested us in the first half, and second half as well. We were able to still try a lot of different things in the second half once we started playing better together and moving the ball. We need to use every game to continue to get better.

Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky)
On tonight’s game:
We started out with a lot of energy and the second group came in and we had some lags. That put us in a downhill from there. But once we got into the locker room Coach Anne broke it down and told us what we needed to do as a team, practice what we’ve been doing and get things done as a team, stop trying to do things individually. If we do that, we’ll get it done. We came out in the second half and we utilized it and it showed. 

What were your goals in the second half?
Just to lock in more mentally on defense, crash the boards more. Do everything that I need to do to get my teammate a shot.

Do you feel like the team is starting to come together a little bit more?
I feel that we are coming together. We just get confused a lot on trying to over think things. But if we go out there and play the way we’re capable of, I don’t think we should have any problems.

Kara Lawson (Sacramento Monarchs)
On the change of pace in the second half:
Personally, I was disappointed with the way I played in the first half, also with the way coming off the bench that we played as a group. Our starters started the game off really well. We were up 19-4 with a couple minutes left in the first quarter. Then we come in and all of a sudden it’s a close game. They go on a 13-0 run. For us, it was a good lesson for us. We have to come in focused when we do come in.

In the second half I definitely thought our defense was a lot better. Our bench, I thought we came in and was effective. We’re going to need that to not drop off. When we come in and the starters come out we need to do a good job of keeping the energy up.

On the defensive effort on the perimeter in the second half:
It was kind of a barrage there at the end of the first quarter. It felt like they made 10 threes and it was 13 points and the wheels kind of fell off for us a little bit, the group that came in. So (at halftime) we just talked about contesting everything. A lot of the looks they got during that stretch were open. We weren’t as active on the defensive end as we have been. Our rotations weren’t as quick as they had been and they were breaking us down. Penetration, that’s the European style. Penetrate, kick to the shooters and they knock it in. We needed to get a hold of them and what they’re doing offensively. Once we did we locked in and did a great job.

Would you say there were 20 minutes of solid basketball played in the second half?
I do. And that’s what we look at. We feel that if we get after it defensively it’s going to translate into offense. We had some great performances tonight. Catchings was unbelievable. What she brought, the loose balls, the blocks, the tips, the way she locked up Valdemoro, who had given us problems in that stretch, I felt she completely changed the game for us on the defensive end.

On New Zealand:
We played them in April.  Solid team.  Actually they have a couple kids from U.S. colleges.  I know Harmon plays at Stanford, a nice wing players for them, and I remember their point guard being quick off the dribble.
They got a kid from Washington that is transferring to UConn that’s a backup center.  So they got a couple familiar faces.

Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks)
You looked good out there as a team.  With the short amount of training time you have, what things are important to be a good team?
Just understanding the principles that our coaches want us to follow and just really sticking to what our defensive schemes are, then offensively making the right reads and reading the defense.  Basketball is not necessarily that simple, but as far as building the chemistry that’s probably been the most amazing part of it.  The fact that we understand each other; Tina (Thompson) and I have played together a lot so we understand each other in the post, then Diana (Taurasi) and Sue (Bird) have played together a lot so I think that helps as well.

The team seemed to have a little slippage of focus towards the end of the first quarter after getting out so well?
I think the team said I jinxed them because I told them to look at the clock and the score was like 19-4 with only two minutes left and then they scored 14 points or something.  So that really was a let down, I think they had four 3-pointer in that span, we missed some assignments and we didn’t have our rotation.  But you know, we needed that, that’s a wake-up call.  Whenever you give a team the day of light and you don’t follow what you’re supposed to do defensively, it can hurt you and it hurt us there.

Is it a good thing to finally be involved in a game after three blowouts?
It’s good and bad, I think it’s a Catch 22, because you see us win by so much and then every time that lead gets cut a little less you think ‘oh, the USA is not ready to play’ or other than that the other team is really good.  For us we have to fight hard for four quarters, really stick with our defensive schemes and I think we’ll be okay. I’m sure the games will become a lot more challenging as we face more talented teams.

Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks)
It was a physical game inside?
I think it was a physical game but the refs did a good job of getting a hold of it early and we were able to play through it.

Is it difficult to keep focus after getting out to a good lead early?
The game was great for us because it allowed us to play from a closer score.  Obviously we lost our focus a little bit sat the end first quarter but we were able to get it back in the second half

Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix Mercury)
Compare and contrast the second quarter and the second half:
I think we were focused more on playing defense in the second half. We allowed them a lot of penetration, but in the second half we limited it. They had some tough shots and still got to the free throw line, but we made their looks a lot tougher. We got out a lot more deflections. Catchings did a really good job on (Amaya) Valdemoro for a spell and that kind of ignited some of the offense.

You’ve been improving day by day since starting practice on July 28. What do you need to do moving forward to continue that?
We need to just stay focused and keep working hard. I think the last three weeks we definitely have  worked really hard getting each other prepared in practice all the time and giving it our all. The good thing about our team is that we’re 12 strong and when all 12 come in and play at a high level, it’s definitely tough to beat us.

Katie Smith (Detroit  Shock)
Was this a typical USA-Spain game?
Yeah, they’re talented, they’re scrappy, they have guards that can spread the floor and knock down threes. So yeah we knew they would come out, they run the ball well.  Tough team.  We gave them a little bit of life there, a lot of energy there at the end of the first quarter after we had them down a little bit and they took that sand ran with it for the rest of the half.  Then we came out in the third quarter and managed to get ourselves a little cushion.

Is it tough to get up 19-4 and keep the focus?
Obviously basketball is kind of a game of runs.  But it is minimizing the runs.  We gave them s little too much there.  They get a run and they get as little bit of life and they go with that.  Yeah they might hit one three or maybe two, but not four in that little short amount of time and that gives them that life and they roll with that and you’ve got to try and steal it back and its hard, especially against a team that can put the ball in hole. 

Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury)
On Spain playing the USA close in the first half:
At this point you have so many competitors out there that no one’s going to back down from anyone. We got together though and clamped it down.

On Spain:
They’re a good team, they’re a very good team and I expect them to go far in this tournament.

Was there any trash talking going on out there?
Oh there’s always a little bit of talk going on in a game. This is basketball. People want to win, they’re going hard. Sometimes things get a little out of hand, but it was no big deal.

Were you surprised at how close it was in the first half?
No. They have top quality players. They play top international basketball on their club teams. They’ve been together for a long time, they know each other and they just started playing really good basketball in the last three or four days. We weren’t surprised at all.

The second half, though, we changed some things and came out on top.

What did you change?
It was just little things that we wanted to focus on that we did early on in the game. Then we kind of lost focus in the first half. Obviously we buckled down on their 3-point shooting. When they get that rolling it’s tough to beat them.

Tina Thompson (Houston Comets)
Do you think you’re unbeatable?
We hope that that’ll be the case at the end. We’re definitely not a cocky team. We play really hard and our goal here is to win a gold medal. That’s the only reason why we’re here. We want to do that. We want to end up in the gold medal game repeating for that gold medal at the end of this tournament.

Do you have a hard time from not getting complacent – the team seems so dominant?
We just have to maintain the level of intensity that we have to start the game. The teams here are good. They’re going to come out, they’re going to have runs. That’s what basketball is all about. It’s a game of runs. We’re not going to completely shut down any team. But when things like that happen we have to regroup and find our focus, continue to match the intensity of other teams.

At the end of the first quarter, as well as the beginning of the second quarter we had a lull where we weren’t matching the intensity of Spain. They’re a team that plays on a lot of emotion and they were high emotionally. We don’t ever want to get into a position where we’re letting a team ride an emotional high like that and being so comfortable in their sets. In the second half, we talked about it. We didn’t want them to come out as comfortable as they were at the end of the first quarter and in the second quarter. Because it would have been a long game for us.

Back to the National Team Page