Additional Quotes >> USA 71, Brazil 54

Merida, Mexico • June 13, 2011

Jill Rankin Schneider, USA head coach
On tonight's game:
I felt like we were gambling too much defensively in the first half and just very careless defensively. Brazil was very quick, and in the second half we contained them better and we controlled the boards. Of course, they cooled off a little bit. They were hitting some tough shots in the first half. I'm proud of our young ladies. They were able to step it up defensively and get on the glass the way we needed them to, and they played very well in the second half.

On the play of Mercedes Russell:
You just can't measure what Mercedes is worth. She played a great game, and she was so physical in there. She was battling all night long. She had five blocks, but you can't count the number of shots she altered just by her presence inside. I really felt like our team built around her more in the second half, and we need to that because she is such a dominant presence.

Were you surprised by the score at halftime?
I think Brazil has a very good team. They are extremely quick and very talented -- great penetrators. They were knocking down some key baskets in the first half. They broke us down defensively because we were getting too extended, so we just had to back off of that a little bit. They were quicker than we were, so we had to work to contain them. I think Brazil is a very, very good team, and we were fortunate to come away with that kind of victory.

Rebecca Greenwell
On tonight's game:
I thought Brazil came out really aggressive, and that's how they got a three-point lead on us at halftime. But, we picked up our intensity and came out strong, and we pulled away in the end. We had a few leaders step up and get everybody's heads together. We came together at halftime, and you could really tell.

On the USA's post play:
It helps a lot to have such strong posts. They are really good on the boards, and getting it inside, I'm confident that they are going to score pretty much every time.

Linnae Harper
On tonight's game:
I think it was a good game. We came out slow. We really weren't aggressive, and we just adjusted to the way they play. In the second half, we came out more intense and we gave our all. I think the game woke us up and gave us a good idea of how the rest of the tournament will be.

On the USA's post play:
A lot of times the game is focused on the guards, but we have big post players, so our goal is to get the ball inside. That is where our biggest advantage is, so we got the ball to the posts and they got easy buckets.

What was the difference between the first and second half?
I think intensity and hustle was the difference. In the first half, we were too laid back, and in the second half, we came out hustling, getting after every ball and playing hard. That's how we got the win.

Stephanie Mavunga
On tonight's game:
Brazil was a very tough team. We were just really ready to play, and we started off pretty well, but then we let up. We came back in the second half and did some good things. We didn't want to get a wake up call with a loss; that's not what we wanted. This game really helped us grow as a team because we improved a lot at halftime.

What was the difference between the first and second half?
In the second half our defense got better, so much better. We were getting after balls, and in the first half we didn't actually dive after balls at all. We started diving on the floor and just made good defensive plays. The defense is what brought our offense and our fast break lay ups, and that's what really made the difference.

Was there any worry when the team was down at halftime?
There was a lot of talk in the locker room at halftime, and we all knew we could do this. No one was worried. We just said, 'we got this' and we really worked hard.

On the USA's post play:
Our size advantage is a great thing to have. We have four girls about 6'3" or taller, and that really helps.

Mercedes Russell
On tonight's game:
My teammates were giving me good passes, and then when they were open, they were shooting. All-around, we all played well.

What was the difference between the first and second half?
Brazil was very fast, and they came out with a lot of intensity. Our defense was the difference in the second half. We picked it up and got stops. And then on the offensive end, we got better, too.