Aug. 19, 2008 • Beijing, China

USA head coach Anne Donovan
You now know your semifinal match-up will be Russia:
We’re excited for another opportunity to play Russia. We’ve watched them throughout the (2008 FIBA) Diamond Ball Tournament and here and they’re getting better with every game. They’ve gotten better than Haining, they’ve gotten Becky (Hammon) integrated more, and we’ve gotten better also. So I’m looking forward to the match. I think it’s a great match-up.

Did Lisa get hurt … you took her out in the first half:
Lisa picked up two fouls and generally that’s our rotation. It has been. We’ve got so much depth with this team that when somebody picks up two fouls, we go right away with our bench.

But, didn’t she go to the locker room?
I’m sorry; I don’t know. Obviously, she came back and was fine.

Can you take us through Spain and Russia and what you expect from each of them?
One, I’m really excited about this matchup. In the European championships, Russia beat Spain by just six points so we feel like this is going to be a great game.

The Spaniards … when they get emotional and get on a roll, they are a very difficult team. So, I think it depends on how they shoot the ball early in this game.

For us, Russia is the team that beat us in the World Championships so there is great motivation if we play Russia. In Haining, which was the warm up tournament, we played Russia … it was Becky’s first day with that team in a game situation so I know they’re a lot better than they were. But, we’ve got confidence against that team. I think we match up well with Russia.

Spain played here, they played us really well for 20 minutes, it was a five-point game at halftime. And again, their emotions in the first half is what kept them rolling. They shot the ball very well from the outside. Second half, we locked down a little bit more defensively and ran away with it. I think either … doesn’t matter who we face, doesn’t matter what the matchups are now. China and Australia, the same thing, at this point, nobody has anything to lose.

There is no underdog per se. Everyone’s going for gold so I think you’re going to see some really good basketball.

Why was important for USA Basketball to wait for Tamika and bring her along even though she is still dealing with that Achilles?
Tamika, if you just cut through everything and if I could give you one thing besides the generic intangible, energy, it’s she gets you extra possessions, whether it’s offensive glass or whether its defensive steal or deflection, she just gets you extra possessions. In Athens, she was a starter for us so now she’s been coming off the bench for us. There can’t be a better sixth man anywhere. She changes our game, she changes our tempo with her energy and it is contagious … everybody feeds off of it.

Although her minutes are low, fortunately we can keep her minutes down, we can limit her practice time because we know how valuable she will be in the next two games. She’s the kind of player that doesn’t have to practice.

When she goes into a game, she makes an immediate impact.

Can you talk about what Penny Taylor means to Australia and also are you sick and tired of hearing questions about USA and Australia and are you looking forward to finally putting those to rest?
I’m not even thinking about Australia. If anyone starts thinking ahead, they’re in trouble and we know that our next opponent is going to be the most dangerous one we face. If Australia gets there and we get there, we’ll worry about that at the time.

In terms of Penny Taylor, she’s extremely valuable to that team. She showed at the World Championships when she was named MVP of their gold medal performance in Brazil, she showed how valuable she is to them. Every player on our team recognizes how valuable she is because of her performance in Phoenix. She is one big reason why they won the championship last year in the WNBA. We don’t underestimate her. We know how valuable she is to the team. We also know that they can play without Penny, but the team plays very well without Lauren or without Penny because they have to do it so often. I think as valuable as those two players are, Australia’s got enough depth and enough confidence that they can play without their superstars if they have to.

Sue Bird (Seattle Storm)
What did you learn in the loss to Russia (2006 World Championship)?
We learned a lot. We always knew that every team kind of has a bulls-eye on us. Russia that year, I can’t remember exactly how many games they lost in Brazil but I want to say it was three or four, it didn’t matter, they beat us and that’s all they thought about, it made their tournament, it didn’t even matter to them that they came in second. We knew that, but to experience it, to hear the entire gym, including Australian players who were sitting in the stands cheering for Russia, against us, you know to actually experience that is much different than just knowing it and being aware of it. So I think we learned a lot from that loss, we’re not going to take anything for granted, one game at a time.

What are your memories of the post game locker room that night?
A lot of silence. When you lose big games like that, you know you’re angry at certain things, maybe at yourself, maybe at just the loss in itself. More so you’re just upset, you’re disappointed, you know you missed an opportunity. When you wear the USA jersey a lot is expected, you’re supposed to win gold medals, so to miss out on even an opportunity to that it was just very, very disappointing. And at the same time we had to bounce back and play for a bronze two nights later.

Is it something that you guys have talked about a lot?
Absolutely, it’s what fuels us. I know maybe only half the team was there, but that’s enough. Everybody else probably watched it on TV, we’ve already watched film on that game a little but, that one game we lost, but I think we’re a much better team now. Sometimes losses turn out to be the biggest win in a lot of ways because you learn more from them at times and they can really motivate you

Becky Hammon is playing for Russia and she’s going to be a storyline:
Obviously, at this point we know she’s going to be there, you guys know she’s going to be there, she’s playing for Russia right now so just like the rest of their team that makes her the enemy when we step on the court, and this is a friend of mine, but when we step on the court she’s got the Russia colors on just like the rest of them and we go to war.

Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever)
On being added late and not playing the same role as she was four years ago:
When I got the phone call, defense was the thing that they had on their minds. Obviously coming back from an injury like the Achilles, it’s a tough injury. Anne (Donovan) came to a few games, Carol (Callan) came to a few games, Renee (Brown) came to a few games, everybody on the (USA Basketball Women’s Senior National Team) Committee came to a few games. Their initial response was, before they saw me play was, we don’t know if she’ll be able to do what we need her to do defensively. After they saw me play, pretty much all their doubts went away. I’m just happy to be here.

Was there any thought in your mind to not playing in the Olympics and instead resting the injury for a few weeks?
Not a chance. This is an opportunity of a lifetime. To win one gold medal and do have the opportunity to be with that team was awesome. But to come back and have the chance to play on that transitioning period team, where you go from the Lisa Leslie to the Candace Parker and Sylvia Fowles, Lisa and them are kind of passing the baton and to be a part of that is a lot of fun.

Is it hard to go from starting to coming off the bench/and playing limited minutes?
The minute thing, when you’re here with this team, it actually helps being able to go in there and be able to do what you know the team needs you to do. I say that meaning whether you play five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 or 20 minutes, you know going into the game that you’re going to get in at some point in time. But when you go in, just make the best of your minutes. Like I said, defense is my bread and butter here. For me, that’s where I have fun.

This team has been playing as well as any team the USA has ever fielded thus far. What's been the key?
I think the biggest thing we've done is that we've picked it up on defense. Our defensive intensity is like none other. Having played on the 2004 team, our defensive system is different with this team. When we're out there and playing together it's amazing.

Everybody is going to be talking about Sylvia Fowles with her 2- point, 14-rebound performance against South Korea. How has she helped the team?
I think Sylvia has been just tremendous. She was all over the boards. Offensively she's a beast out there. You saw her tonight. She'd get the ball in the middle of three or four people and she was able to put the ball up with ease. Offensively she's very dynamic, but defensivley, the help that she showed was great. She knows how to play defense. The defensive intensity of the team helps each one of us.

The USA men are here every night to support you. What does that mean to you?
It means a lot, the support that we've been able to show one another. They come to our games and we go to theirs. When we go back to the hotel, you should see it, we walk in the lunch room where we all eat and everybody starts clapping .The support that we've gotten from the guys and the parents and the people who have come over from America has been great.

Can you talk about the depth of your team?
I think the depth of our team is awesome. It's something we talked about from the beginning. It's one for twelve. From the starting five that goes out to the rest of us who come off the bench, it's like the energy never goes away, if anything, it picks up. Obviously with Sylvia tonight, she did a great job, a phenomenal job. Anne and the coaching staff do a great job of rotating everybody in, keeping us all fresh.

Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky)
On the game:
First and foremost, I’d like to thank Korea. They are a very good team and they came out and played very aggressive and made us adjust to the way that they played. Second, I’d like to thank my teammates and my coaches for getting us prepared for this game and getting us ready and letting us know what Korea was all about and letting us go out there and play our best basketball.

Talk about your dominant performance tonight. What got into you?
First of all, it’s the gold medal round. You want to go out there and give it your all and play the game like it’s your last. I know I’ve kinda been in a slump the last few games and I haven’t performed well since the first two games we played in the preseason. I just wanted to come out and make a statement that I was back and let my teammates know that they can have confidence in me again. So, that’ what I came out with a bang.

What does Penny Taylor’s injury do the matchup of USA vs. Australia if she can’t come back for the final?
Nothing. Not to take anything away from Penny but Australia is a great team and we just got to go in focused with the same mindset as if she was there. No letdowns or anything like that. We just got to have that same focus.

Obviously the game plan was to go inside. Do you think that’s why you were able to have some success tonight?
Yes, that too. I think I was in a good mood mostly and I was to the point I was going to go out there and perform. Once I got started, I didn’t need anything stopping it. I kept that mindset for the whole 40 minutes of the game and ended up with successful numbers.

Has this been fun for your team on the court as well as off the court, the whole Olympic experience?
Yes, it’s been more than I ever expected. We have fun off the court but just to get together and all us 12 players can go out there and have fun on the court and get things done, it’s also been a good journey.

On her defensive effort against South Korea:
You have a lot of players playing great defense and that just gets me going even more. I try to be a big factor on the defensive end, crashing the boards or getting a tip or help side and all that other good stuff.

When you walk out there and see everyone is shorter then you and you have a great opportunity to score, what’s the feeling?
It’s a good feeling but they also have an advantage because they are small and they get up under you and they don’t let you post the way you’re capable of posting up. But then again it’s a mental thing. You’ve got to run the floor even harder, post up even harder, and all the other good stuff. The coaches got us ready during shoot around and practice, making sure we utilized our options because they are so short band make sure we get out there and do what we have to do in the post.

Talk about your guards:
Man, our guards are great. I don’t think there can be anybody better than the guards that we have. I appreciate them because they push the ball and they also get me the ball, so thanks to all my guards.

How much better can this team be?
Much better. We just have to put our mind to it and be ready for everything that’s comes against us. We know nobody has anything to lose and they’re going to come out ready so we need to make sure we’re ready at that the jump ball.

Kara Lawson (Sacramento Monarchs)
On defending South Korea’s 3-point shooting:
They take 24 threes a game, which is the most in the tournament. We weren’t going to keep them from not taking them. The best thing we could do was contest their shots and make it a little more difficult for them. I felt that our length could bother them defensively. We had size on the perimeter and on the inside.

You came out and gave the team a little spark:
Depth is, we feel, one of our big advantages in this tournament. Look at the players we bring off the bench, it’s crazy. Catchings, Seimone, Fowles, Parker, are you kidding me? We feel like we can bring our second wave of players, a third wave of players in and a lot of times that’s when game breaks open. It’s not always because the first five aren’t doing a great job, it’s because that’s when fatigue sets in for another team. Sometimes it’s the first quarter, our starters go hard for six, seven minutes and then the other team’s starters start to wear a little bit. Then we come in with fresh bodies that are just as good as the players we took out and now all of a sudden we’re able to stretch the lead out a little bit.

On who you want to play:
We’re two wins away and when you’re this close, whoever they put in front of you, you’re excited to play against. Spain, for us, even though point margin-wise it looked like a relatively easy win, we were a little disappointed in ourselves at the end of the first quarter. I know particularly those of us on the bench were disappointed in how we played.

So, we’d like to have another crack at those guys too.

There's been a lot of talk about Becky Hammon playing for Russia. What are your thoughts?
To be honest with you, when I look over there, I see Russia on 12 players' jerseys and when the ball goes up we're playing Russia. I don't worry about names or numbers unless they pertain to scouting reports on what they can do. I'm not worried about that. This is a chance for us to advance to a gold medal game. We're two wins away. We just don't think about that stuff.

We know that would be a tough game and we know we have to play really well to win, should Russia advance. Let's not shortchange Spain at all.

Talk about your size and your depth, please.
Going forward the teams will get bigger. We feel the depth of players we have in the interior, that's huge for us. It's huge to keep going into Lisa, it's huge to keep going into Lisa., it's huge to keep going into Sylvia and other teams just don't have that depth of player with that talent level. As we move forward. Just keep trying to pound inside to those guys and wear teams out that way. That sets everything else for us. We have players on the perimeter that can get their shots when they want to get them. So for us to get those guys going, get people in foul trouble, pound it inside the paint, that's high percentage offense for us.

Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks)
On the play of Sylvia Fowles and the looks that she can present:
O completely. I think she got missed a lot even tonight in the high-low, but when we came earlier in Beijing (at the 2008 Good Luck Beijing Tournament in April), I lived with that. You throw it up there, Sylvia will go get it. I think we have yet to use that combination with the two of us on the floor. But we do have it in our arsenal and you’ll see it as we approach the bigger teams.

What do you like about this team?
This has been amazing, the chemistry that we’ve built in a very, very, very short period of time. I’ve been on three other Olympic teams where we’ve had so much more time and you arrive here hoping that it all comes together. We’ve just come together and meshed better than any team that I’ve ever been on in this short period of time. We are so selfless and unselfish. I was honestly a little nervous about that coming in with this group before I truly got a chance to meet everyone. But through the tours that we’ve had, you could see that people are all about winning. We don’t care about the scoring, the points, whatever. As long as we’re winning, we’re following our coaches game plan and we’re winning, we’re happy.

Are the fans on the street as familiar with the stars in the women’s game as they are with the men’s team?
Yes, I sign enough autographs and people say ‘hi Leslie’ all the time. The same thing said, you can look at our publicity versus the men’s publicity and it’s not quite the same. As we begin to close that margin a little bit in our own country, maybe we can increase the popularity of our sport. But overall I think the world does a pretty good job of keeping up with the women’s sports and us as well.

On Penny Taylor’s injury:
She’ll be fine. Penny Taylor is a great player and obviously a huge piece of Australia’s puzzle. But they have a very talented team. I would always expect her to play so I would have to see it myself and see her come in a wheelchair before I believe she wouldn’t play. I’m sure that if she gets the treatment she needs, she’ll be okay.

Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks)
What is it with this, the first quarter a little bit slow starting and then the second and third quarter you guys just explode?
I think it is just our defensive pressure gets the teams tired out and we just reload every time we come in with new players.

Size advantage was obviously a big key going into this game:
Definitely, obviously we need to clean up plays by getting on the glass and obviously offensive rebounding was key when we missed shots and I think Sylvia did a great job with just being a beast on the boards.

When you go up against a team that is smaller like Korea, is there any way you can do it any better then you did tonight?
We worked a lot in practice about playing out of the double-teams because we knew that they were going to double-team, and also dribble penetration and kick it out to shooters, so at the beginning we spread the defense that way and then we were able to get easy layups.

Moving on to semifinals, how do you improve, is there a way to get better?
There’s a way, every day. We obviously have given up less and less offensive rebounds as time has gone on because that has been our main focus – just finishing plays. It think we’ve played great defense for 23 seconds and that one second when they get the offensive rebound is key. We know these next two games are going to be tough.

What is it like to be part of team that is great from top to bottom.
From top to bottom we’re here to prove that we’re the best 12 in the world. It’s amazing to look to your right and look to you left and see the caliber of players you’re playing with and to be on the same team with them.

Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix Mercury
What is it about Chicago that churns out so many great players?
I guess it has a lot to do with our families, God. Think about it, a lot of players who come from Chicago, some don’t keep going. So we have to credit our families more importantly than basketball. That’s allowed us to keep going and keep maintaining as players. For me, I credit it to God and my family.

Looking beyond this Olympics, is this something you want to do again?
Of course. You see this woman right here? (pointing to Lisa Leslie) That’s what I aspire to be. This could be her fourth (gold). I’ve been playing USA Basketball since I was 16, so the process has been long but it’s finally here. Everything that we’ve worked hard for is here. Hopefully I can keep going to London, then hopefully we can get the bid in Chicago, and be able to play at home. That would be great. By that time I’ll be 31 so hopefully I can keep going.

Katie Smith (Detroit Shock)
With the team’s record and your performances, Is there an intimidating factor for the teams facing you?
Let’s hope so, but I don’t know. Honestly the teams we’re going to face next they’ve been there, done that. Russia beat us in the World Championship; Australia we’ve played tough games; we play with each other overseas; they play in the WNBA; this is a very familiar group now. Everybody wants this, so there’s going to be some battles, but we’re looking forward to it.

Any concerns you haven’t been tested in this event?
Yeah and no. Prior to this we had the Diamond Ball Tournament and we had a close one against Australia. I think the way we’re playing we’re doing the things we’re supposed to be doing and I think we’re aware we’re going to get tested, but it’s just a matter a fighting through it, grind it out, and just kind of staying the course a little bit. There’s going to be teams that are going to make runs and it’s going to be tight, but hopefully we can withstand that and be able to keep ourselves on top.

You still feel you still have a few games to go through then?
Yeah I think so. I think we can step it up a notch. I still think we can clean things up, I still think we can shoot the ball better, especially from the outside, but I’m really excited about how all 12 players are getting in there and we don’t skip a beat.

How much has the loss in 2006 pushed you through the training and the games here?
It’s big, that hurt, that was not a fun thing. We wanted to at least have a chance to go for the gold. We didn’t shoot the ball well, we didn’t take of the defensive end and Russia play well. I think no matter what, we’re going to come ready to play no matter who it is, but especially if it’s Russia. There’s no extra incentive needed except for that and obviously the history we have. I’m excited, just excited about putting ourselves in a place to get what we want which is a gold medal.

Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury)
Do you see Sylvia learning from being around Lisa?
It’s great that Sylvia can be around Lisa. Obviously Syl is the future and Lisa has had the best talent in the world for so long, which she still is on any given night, the best player on the court. And she has been in this tournament for us. Syl has this amazing athletic ability and once she gets it together she’ll be a scary sight. A scary, scary sight.

On Penny Taylor’s ankle injury:
I was actually watching the game in the hotel and I saw her roll her ankle pretty bad. I hope she’s okay. I played with Penny for four years, she’s a tough kid. That’s not going to slow her down one bit, she’s as tough as they come.

On the loss to Russia in the 2006 FIBA World Championship semifinal contest:
That was a nice piece of humble pie for us, really. I always say that that was the best thing that could happen to us. We’ve been riding a high for so long of being untouchable. It shows you that any given night if you don’t bring your ‘A’ game, the world is good enough to beat you. That’s the one thing that’s in the back of our minds, we’re not the World Champions. We have to go get it again.

Do you worry about Becky Hammon at all?
No, we’re worried about people who are wearing USA Basketball jerseys and shirts and that’s the only people we’re worried about.

But she brings a different dimension to their game, she’s a very good player:
Yes, she’s a very good player and adds a great dimension to their team. But if we focus on what we have to do, we’ll be fine.

What do you remember most about your semifinal loss to Russia in 2006?
They played an incredible basketball game. They shot the ball really well. At the same time we didn’t do anything really right defensively or offensively. That’s definitely in the back of our minds.

You guys have been so dominant, the softball team has been so dominant (rest of question unintelligible):
Softball has been great, soccer has made it to the gold medal game, hopefully they win. I think it's a great level of team. Once again, you can put all these great individuals together, but if they don't match up and they're not willing to give up a little of their individual prowess for the team, there's nothing to work for.

What do you take out of tonight's game?
Another opportunity to get better. Now every game you just have to win it. You can talk about fix this, fix that. You just have to find a way to win these games. That's the bottom line. Things aren't going to be perfect, but if you find a way to win, that's all that counts.

You guys are winning by so much, is there anything that concerns you?
Sometimes in these games you get a little false sense of how good you are because we do overpower physically some of these teams so much. I always say that against the good teams we're going to have to work, no matter what. Russia or Spain, you know you're going to have to work, you're going to have to find different ways to play defense, to play offense. It's just a different game. You don't get things that you'll get against teams at a lesser level.

Sue was mentioning offensive rebounding. Is that something that the team needs to work on?
Offensive rebounding is something that we have to focus on, especially these next two games, no matter who we play.

Back to the National Team Page