Additional Quotes >> USA Women's U17 80, Brazil 38

USA head coach Jill Rankin Schneider (Monterey H.S., Texas)
On today's game:
I see so many ways we can get better, so the sky is the limit on how good this team can be. We've got so much depth and athleticism at every position. I was really pleased with how strong we came out. Tonight we played a strong, strong first half. I thought we were pretty flat after halftime. But when we put three guards in at the end, we really picked things up defensively and the tempo picked up again. That was interesting for me to see because at times we may be able to use three guards. This is an exciting team to coach, and I'm really looking forward to getting back together in August.

What things does this team still need to work on?
There are lots of things we can improve upon, particularly in our defense. Playing a team like Brazil is a great experience to see things like that this early in the process. Now we can break down a bunch of game film and work on our defense. And on the boards, I felt like we gave up too many rebounds that we should have come up with. As many good things as I saw, I know that there are so many things we can improve to make us much, much better.

Can you sum up the week of training?
I think we accomplished a lot. We covered a lot of concepts, and I felt like this team really picked up on all of it very quickly. We put in almost everything we are going to do offensively. We are still going to add a couple of things in August, but for all practical purposes, we put in our offenses, our sideline and out-of-bounds plays our defenses. Now we can build on that and instead of teaching in August, we can work on refining and getting better at all of those things.

Kaela Davis (Buford H.S./Suwanee, Ga.)
How do you think the team played today?
I think we did well. We've only had about a week of practice together. Obviously, there are things we want to work on, but we have more time to prepare. I'm excited about where we are starting off.

Can you talk about the hot start the team got off to today?
I think that is really important, especially in international basketball against teams you've never played before. I think it's important to get off to a fast start. The five that were out there did a great job of starting us off.

Can you sum up the week of training?
I think we accomplished a lot this week, and I think the main thing was getting our team chemistry started. I think that's really important. We are going to be with each other for all of August, and chemistry is something that we will need to have. We got a lot of defensive stuff done this week, and we got through most of our plays. We have a lot to fine-tune, but we are starting from a good place.

Diamond DeShields (Norcross H.S./Norcross, Ga.)
How do you think the team played today?
I think we did wonderful today, fantastic actually when you consider we have only been together for a week and we've only practiced five times. Coming out and playing against this Brazil team that has been together for months, I think we came together very well as a unit. We did a lot of things collectively that led up to the win.

What things does this team still need to work on?
Definitely, we need to work on our defense still. You can never go wrong improving your defense. The offense will come. Our shooters had some trouble today, but our offense will come. Defense is something we need to work on -- strengthening our legs and being able to run with these international teams.

Can you talk about the hot start the team got off to today?
Last night we scrimmaged Brazil, and it was sloppy and the game was close. We ended, and we didn't feel good about it. Today, we woke up and came out fiery and ready to play.

Can you sum up the week of training?
We accomplished a lot, as far as conditioning, going over our offenses and getting to know each other and our team chemistry. A lot of that showed in our game today, and I think we've improved a lot this week.

Kai James (William T. Dwyer H.S./West Palm Beach, Fla.)
How did it feel to play in your first international game?
It's actually really different and a really different environment. The skill level was higher and playing with a different group of girls, it was a good experience. I had a lot of fun.

Can you talk about the hot start the team got off to today?
We got off to a good start. We executed our plays and put the ball in the basket -- pretty much what coach wants us to do.

Can you sum up the week of training?
We got to know each other a little bit -- places we will be on the court, things we can do and things we can't do.

Taya Reimer (Hamilton Southeastern H.S./Fishers, Ind.)
After training for a week, did it feel good to get in an exhibition game?
Yes, definitely. It was a full game against an international team, so that was good.

How do you think the team played?
I actually think we played really well. We shared the ball, everybody was hitting shots and playing aggressive, playing good defense, so it was good.

Can you talk about the USA's fast start?
Everybody seemed to be on it. We were hitting shots and getting steals and getting out in transition. It was an awesome start.

What things does this team still need to work on?
I think we still have plenty of work to do defensively. Brazil got a lot of dribble-penetration, so we will need to work on that.

Can you sum up the week of training?
Especially, for the newer girls who are playing with USA Basketball for the first time, this week was really helpful. We learned all of our plays and a half-court trap. So, I think definitely in terms of what we are going to run, we got a lot accomplished. We've gotten a lot closer as a team, too, and I think that's really important.