Additional Quotes >> China 84, USA 81

April 26, 2008 � Beijing China

Anne Donovan, head coach
Opening statement:
I have to give all the credit to China. They came out and played a tremendous game, they really attacked us in the first half with penetration and we struggled to contain it. I give them a lot of credit for how hard they played and how strong they played.

We made some good runs in the second half, in the fourth quarter in particular, but we just didn't lock down defensively and get stops.

Is it difficult to come out and play against teams without your full compliment of players?
There's no question, there's not any team, not any country, where you can come in with less than your best, not play well and then expect to walk out with a win. That's been our challenge, trying to find the time for our players to get together and train. We simply haven't had it. We've trained different players at different times and right now Lisa's getting good experience. But we don't have our perimeter to work with her. Our challenge will be in July when we get together, we'll have to form that chemistry really quickly.

On the play of Sylvia Fowles during the tournament:
Sylvia Fowles is a very young player and she does not have a lot of experience with our USA National Team. But you can see her value. In a very short period of time she came to this tournament and made a very big impact. She finished as our leading scorer and leading rebounder on this trip. It is very likely that she'll be back with us in August and she will be one of the players in our post rotation without any doubt.

Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Sky
How did this game differ from the first game against China?
They came out with a lot more energy. Once they started clicking as a team it was hard for us to click on defense. That's something that USA just doesn't do. Once they started getting in their groove we weren't able to get into our groove defensively and that put us into the hole.

You were able to fight back and take the lead in the second half. Tell me about that run:
That stretch, we worked so hard to get back but we didn't work hard enough to maintain it. China just came back, did a lot of things that were unexpected. We didn't crash the boards and we didn't get back on a couple of plays where they got easy layups. It's something that we could have controlled but mentally we just weren't there.

What can you learn from this?
That pool play means nothing. You can come in and do all the things you want to do right but the game that really counts is the championship game. Coach G summed it up quite well in the locker room, you have to be ready for everything. The refs, you have to be ready for how they're going to come out and play and you have to click. All five have to click on the same page when you're all out there on the floor together.

If you have the opportunity to return to Beijing in August, will this serve as a little extra motivation for you?
It's going to leave a bitter taste in my mouth for a long time, even if I don't get back here in August. I'll be looking forward to it whenever I do make a (USA Basketball) team. I'm going to always remember China and it's going to be different every time we play them because you never want to feel this way again. I'm looking forward to meeting up with them again.

Kara Lawson, Sacramento Monarchs
What kind of positive things can you learn from this game?
Defensively we weren't at the level we needed to be to win this game. They came out aggressive on the offensive end and really attacked. Our perimeter trying to get into the paint really brought our posts outside and attacked them. In the first half we fouled, that was how we defended. Then in the second half we weren't able to get enough stops. Our offense wasn't always flowing but we scored 81 points and that should be enough, especially with the defense that we played in this tournament so far, keeping teams around 60. It's disappointing that we couldn't do it tonight, we didn't have the energy, we didn't have the focus on that end to get it done.

You've been to several training camps, do you feel you've left a good impression on the committee?
I hope so. I really do. Obviously you leave on a disappointing note from a team standpoint. But you just have to hope that the positives you bring to the team, that everyone looks at those and your body of work overall. That's what you hope for. They're going to make the best decision they can, but it's definitely not the way you want to leave.

Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks
Do you think this tournament overall will help the team in August?
This will definitely help me. It's been a great time playing in this tournament with all these players here and getting back into the mix with USA Basketball. Also having that feeling of losing, which I have not felt in a long time, is enough motivation to drive me to be even better for the Olympics and be totally focused. Sometimes you need that. It's a little reality check.

What did China do differently today?
They were all over us in the post. With the double- and triple-team they were obviously trying to slow down Sylvia and me. Having five or six players in foul trouble early didn't help, that really hurt us. I didn't have my strongest game at all. I have to be better for our team.

Taj McWilliams-Franlin, Washington Mystics
On today's game:
China stuck to their game plan. They did the same thing they did two nights ago. The only difference is that we played differently. We didn't finish our shots, we didn't play our killer defense that we normally play. We didn't play like a USA Basketball team and we gave them a lot of opportunities to beat us. Instead of buckling down and taking care of what we needed to we gave them the game.

Katie Smith, Detroit Shock
Opening statement:
I thought they were really aggressive. Our defense was not as good as it was the other night. They really capitalized off of our turnovers, got some easy fast break buckets and got to the free throw line. Those three things hurt us when it came down to the end. But giving up 84 points was too much. You're not going to win many ballgames giving up that many points.

How did this game differ from the first game against China?
China was aggressive. They took it at our bigs and our one-on-one defense was poor for us to start the game and they got rolling. Our big players got into foul trouble and they knocked down some shots. I don't think we were as disciplined and focused as we should have been. Even when we weren't getting shots we should have been getting some stops. They were aggressive from start to finish and they hit their shots. They pretty much kept their cushion. We did make a little run but we couldn't keep it.

What positives can you take from this tournament?
It was fun seeing Lisa and Sylvia on the floor together. I thought we played well, we played hard for the most part. We just have to do it a little more consistently from start to finish, especially on the defensive end. Giving up 84 points just isn't going to cut it. You score 81, you should be able to win a ballgame, especially with the team that we have. We had a lot of good efforts, a lot of good play but this definitely leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Not only for this game, but losing to Australia. Losing two games here was tough, but a lot of times you learn a lot more and maybe get a lot more out of losses than wins so let's hope that's the case.