Additional Quotes >> USA 114, Venezuela 32

Merida, Mexico • June 15, 2011

Jill Rankin Schneider, USA head coach
On tonight's game:
I felt like we came ready to play, and we played hard and we shot the ball pretty well.

The USA had a big lead very early in the game. How did you keep the team focused?
We knew coming into the game that we have had some lulls in our intensity, and that was a goal for us today -- regardless of how the game is going, don't let there be that familiar lull. I thought we did a really good job of handling that. And then a halftime, we tried to establish some different goals for ourselves, because the point spread was so big and you have a tendency to get a little sloppy and we didn't want that to happen. We made it a priority to execute our half court offense, to try and stop penetration down the middle of our defense and to limit our turnovers. I thought we did a great job on all of that in the second half.

On the USA's 32 assists:
I really am pleased at how they share the ball, and I thought we did a great job of that today. I'm really happy with how this team has come together, and I hope they can finish it out that same way on Friday and Saturday.

Is this team ready for the medal semifinals?
There are lots of ways that any team can improve, and there are lots of places that this team could be better. But as far as how good we are going to be on Friday and Saturday night, I think that we are ready for that challenge.

Recee' Caldwell
On tonight's game:
I thought we pushed the ball really well, and we swung the ball when we didn't have our first or second option. I just thought we played together as a team.

On the USA's 32 assists:
It's a great feeling to be able to rely on your teammates because you know that you will have a good option, whether it's the first or second option or even later in the offense.

The USA had a big lead very early in the game. How did you stay focused?
Coach Schneider gets on us in practice about keeping our focus, and that translates into the game. I think we did really well at that, we didn't lose focus at all.

Is this team ready for the medal semifinals?
We are ready. I really think that this last game showed that we are ready.

Jordin Canada
On tonight's game:
I thought we played great. We came out, and we were ready to play. We had great defense in the first and second half, and we played as a team.

The USA had a big lead very early in the game. How did you stay focused?
Coach told us during halftime to keep our focus and reminded us of why we are here, and we maintained control of the game the whole time.

On the USA's 32 assists:
Being able to pass the ball to any of your teammates knowing that every one can finish is really great.

Is this team ready for the medal semifinals?
We are all ready for it. It's going to be a good challenge for us, and we are prepared.

Kaela Davis
On tonight's game:
Overall, I think everyone just played really, really well together. We set a record with 32 assists, so that's always something great to hear -- that everyone is sharing the ball and we are really coming together as one. It was lot of fun.

The USA had a big lead very early in the game. How did you stay focused?
I think everyone did a great job of staying focused on the goals that the coaches set at halftime and doing what we needed to do to finish the game out the right way.

Are you ready for the medal semifinals?
I'm excited. I've never really been in this situation before. A gold medal would be amazing, but we have some work to do to get there.

Taya Reimer
On tonight's game:
I thought that we really played well. We've been having trouble playing well from the get-go, and today we actually started well. It was a good game for us, and it was a lot of fun.

The USA had a big lead very early in the game. How did you stay focused?
We set goals on scoring and defense to help us stay focused, and that really worked.

On the USA's 32 assists:
That's the great thing about a USA team, everybody is good at everything. I think that is what makes us so good.

Is this team ready for the medal semifinals?
We are so ready. This is what we've been working for. We've been focusing on certain things, individually and as a team, and I think we are finally starting to put those things all together.