Additional Quotes >> USA 88, USC 64

November 13, 2007 � Los Angeles, California

USA head coach Anne Donovan:
On today's game:
It's another win, we're happy with it, happy to move onto Stanford and get one last opportunity to put a full game together.

On USC:
I think USC's got a great team this year. They took me off guard a little bit. They lost four starters and they really did a nice job tonight, played confidently. Outside and inside they really did a nice job. You guys have an exciting year ahead of you.

What did you tell the team at halftime? You gave only 24 points the other night the whole game against a ranked opponent and USC isn't ranked.
They should be ranked. Coach Trakh does a great job. For a lot of us, including myself, you see four starters gone, you see (Shay) Murphy gone, and their inside game gone, you just don't expect as much from them this year. Coach has done a great job with this team. We got caught up in some of that in the first half. They were confident, aggressive well-coached and they are going to have a great season this year.

What are your goals for the college tour?
Our biggest goal is to develop more team chemistry. This is the first time we've had Lisa back in the mix in a year. We've been training quite a bit over the last year with a lot of commitment from our perimeter players in Diana, Sue, Seimone and Katie Smith. We've done some great training, but haven't necessarily had our veteran post players with us. We're putting the pieces together now, our inside game and our outside game. So our goal on this college tour was to continue to develop our chemistry. We have definitely done that.

It's been great to see the development of our perimeter players, our younger players who have stepped up into much bigger roles since Athens. In the period of the time that we lost Lisa and Yolanda (Griffith) we've gotten that development from our perimeter game.

The college tour's been great for us. We've played a lot of great teams on this trip. We have one more game against Stanford and hopefully we'll finish with another win.

Jamie Carey, Connecticut Sun
On returning to Stanford:
It's always fun to go to Stanford. It's where my heart first was and I'll always feel like I'm a part of the Cardinal family. I'm excited to see Tara and Amy, the rest of the coaching staff and to be back in Maples again.

I have quite a few friends there still, I'm excited to see them. I just love the area, it's gorgeous. It'll be nice to be in the area.

How many times have you been back to Maples Pavilion?
I've been back there a few times on my own, but I played there with Texas and we won on that floor to go to the Final Four so I have very fond memories there to say the very least.

Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks
On the play of USC:
One thing I told coach Trakh at the end of the game was that his team was well coached. Sometimes on this tour you can tell when a team is very well coached by the way they play together and their poise. I think that his team really showed a lot of poise, a lot of fight and in some aspects I was really proud of them. On the flip side, since I was on the other team, I was really surprised by their effort, their defense and the score at halftime. They made a really good effort to put us in some bad situations jumping out in that zone. I don't think we were necessarily prepared. We were obviously prepared with our plays, we just weren't prepared that the first play was going to be a zone. I think we took a step back and it took us a little bit of time to come back.

The first half was not very good, but in the second half we showed up and played USA Basketball.

How do you compare USC, an unranked team, to some of the teams on the tour that are ranked?
They definitely played like a ranked team. This is a really good team that plays well together. Hailey (Dunham) does a great job of running the team from the point guard position. She was very savvy with the ball and ran the team well. Morghan (Medlock), who always plays really hard, also played incredibly well tonight. As far as their size, their presence inside and their ability to move the ball and their heart, they were right up there with some of the teams that we've played, whether ranked 14 or four, they did a really good job.

What was it like to come back home and play?
This is home in many ways, just to be able to play in this arena is exciting for me after watching it being built. Being a Trojan at heart last year I came out to watch them when I was pregnant, so it was awesome for me to be able to play on the tour and be in the building. Also, to be able to see my family and my family to be able to see my baby was great because it's been awhile.

Where do you feel you are in terms of basketball ability?
On a scale of one to 10, Diana says I'm a four.

Taurasi: That's how good she is.

Leslie: It's tough, there's certain things and movements on the court where I'm not quite there yet. Whether it's my lateral movement. Morghan (Medlock) was able to cross me over and I didn't get a chance to get back in front of her, some of that's due to the pregnancy, some of that's due to how fast she made the move. Then sometimes on rebounding or other movements, so for me this has been great. Just the opportunity to get back out there, Lauren is only four months old. It's been awesome for me to get back out there on the team and feel the camaraderie. The one thing that I see, probably the worst part of my game, is the timing. It's going to take awhile. I see the play and the movement and I make the pass, but it's a turnover. That's something that I have to work on for next year.

Were you a little bit torn on the outcome? On one hand, you'd win but on the other it would be great for your alma mater.
No, I'm not that torn. I don't want to be on the losing end of any game. But to be honest, like coach said, I saw SC play last year and then I knew there were a lot of new girls. We didn't really know what to expect. I was happy that they were so good and came out so strong, but I was like, 'oh no! We have to beat them!' (laughs). I was excited that SC came out and gave us a really strong game and that we have really good players because I'm a Trojan. But at the same time, no, I did not want to lose.

Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
On today's game:
USC looks really good. I was impressed with them because they're so big everywhere, unlike a lot of the college teams we've played. They have size on the perimeter, on the inside, a lot of movable pieces. Coach Trakh, that's what he does. At Pepperdine he was successful, he's going to do the same thing here. I've known him a long time, he's a great coach and he's going to put them in a great situation this year.

As for us, it was another blueprint game for us. It was another shaky first half and then we come out in the second half really strong. That's something as a team we have to look at very closely and fix. All it is is kind of a mental status that all of us have to take into a game. Once we do that we'll be alright.

They [USC] play like a ranked team. I was impressed with their size. They have size on the inside and on the perimeter. They are incredibly well-coached. On this college tour, you can tell the teams that are well-coached. They are poised and play well together.

What was it like to come back home to this area and play in front of your family and friends?
It's definitely nice to come back. Whether we play the Sparks or in college when we played Pepperdine with coach Trakh, it's always nice to be back in familiar territory and see family. The arena looks great, today was a great setting for a basketball game.

USC Head Coach Mark Trakh
On the game:
This was such a great game. They are such great ambassadors for the game. The team is really a class act.

On the play of his team:
I think we have a bright future. I think we played great and with so much respect. I am very proud of the way that we played tonight.

On changes USA made during halftime:
They adjusted really well at halftime. They came out and were determined. They picked up the intensity.

On how the game will help them with the home opener against Colorado:
I think it will help us. The fact that we kept the game relatively close and led at halftime will give us a sense of confidence. It will give us a little jump in our step that we can take to the game against Colorado, so I think that it will really help us.

USC Guard Hailey Dunham:
On USC leading in the first half 29-18:
I was on cloud-nine. Our intensity was crazy. We were so pumped. Once we got our offense going we were hitting shots. We were so honored to play this team.

On the team:
This game just shows how hard we can play and how well we play together.