Additional Quotes >> USA 87, Mexico 58

Oct. 23, 2011 • Guadalajara, Mexico

Ceal Barry
USA head coach
On tonight's game:
I think our team knew that we could play better than we had been, and they went after it aggressively on the offensive end. We got a lot of production from different players tonight. Kevi Luper shot the ball well, April Sykes came off of the bench and shot the ball well and, in particular, Christine Flores, really opened up the game to start the second half. That got the team excited, and they stopped thinking and started playing basketball.

On the USA's 14-2 third quarter run:
Flores started us out, and then everybody wanted to get in, and they started having fun and they started gaining confidence throughout the third quarter. That was the biggest difference -- their confidence level.

On the USA's improvement over the past three games:
I think this team was getting used to one another, I was getting used to them and they were getting used to me. We knew that we were good enough, but it just hadn't come together. Tonight, it came together.

Marissa Kastanek
(North Carolina State/Lincoln, Neb.)
On tonight's game:
It's really exciting to get our first win with USA Basketball and to play for our country is really awesome.

Do you think tonight showed how this team has improved over the last three games?
I think it was a great demonstration of us getting used to each other and playing with each other and it really showed what we are capable of.

On the USA's 14-2 third-quarter run:
It was just amazing. We came out, and we didn't let them set the tone for the game. That was our goal, and we accomplished that.

Kevi Luper
(Oral Roberts/Adair, Okla.)
On the USA's 14-2 third-quarter run:
Christine came out, and she was just on fire. We played them even for a few minutes, and then all of the sudden we started hitting our shots, and it seemed like nobody missed for the rest of the third quarter. We were just on a roll.

With the team out of medal contention, what did this game mean?
We wanted to prove that yes, we are USA and yes we are good. We struggled in our first two games, but we are playing for our country and we want to get wins for our country. And so, it wasn't a matter of whether or not we could medal, it was a matter of representing our country and getting a win.

Breanna Stewart
(Cicero-North Syracuse H.S./North Syracuse, N.Y.)
On tonight's game:
I think we were clicking on everything. We started a little slow, but after halftime everything was going our way. That's how we should play. It was a little late in the tournament, but that's alright. Tonight's game definitely demonstrated that we have been getting better with each game. We've only been together for a week and a day, and our chemistry together was great on the floor tonight. I think it will be even better tomorrow.

With the team out of medal contention, what did this game mean?
We are playing for our pride and pride in our country. You never want to go home on the losing end of things, so we were just fighting to get one win started, and hopefully another one tomorrow night.

On her presence inside:
I just tried to use my length. My wing span is pretty long, and usually I can get the ball over the top of opponents, and I just had to use that to my advantage.

On playing on ESPN2:
It was great that everyone back home could watch us play, and I'm just honored to play for the USA.

Avery Warley
(Liberty/Washington, D.C.)
On tonight's game:
I think it was a good team win. We had a lot of bench participation, we kept up the tempo and we took good shots. We definitely concentrated on continuing to improve, and I think that showed. We found our chemistry tonight, and it was great game.