Additional Quotes >> USA 61, Spain 50

July 11, 2010 • Alagon, Spain

Barbara Nelson
(USA and Wingate University head coach)
On tonight's game:
I felt like we played much harder than we had been, and we cared more about being effective. I felt like we played for the first time like a team, I'm excited that we are taking steps in the right direction, but we have a long way to go.

I think it was a game of runs, and I'm very happy our runs came out on top. I do think Spain played with a lot of heart, but I felt like we really matched their effort tonight with our intensity.

On Elizabeth Williams, who was named MVP of the exhibition tournament:
Elizabeth is the anchor to our offense, and Breanna Stewart is probably the anchor on our defense. When Elizabeth comes to play and dominates the low post, we are a force to be reckoned with. She was able to run the floor today, get some baskets and really did a great job, as she did all three games. Tonight, she had to guard a guard for most of the game, and she did a great job. It's key for her to continue to improve as a player and improve as a leader on this team to help expand her game.

On the third quarter:
We pushed our lead to 11 in the first half, and then they pulled back within three points. I felt like our depth began to wear on them, and we extended the lead in the third quarter again to 15 points, and they clawed back. Spain played with a sense of urgency the last minute-and-a-half while we played just trying to save our lead.

How helpful was this tournament in advance of the world championships next week?
I think this tournament was important for us. This team had never won anything. We won our first game two nights ago, lost our first game yesterday, and we turned around and were able to come back. We came out with a lot of energy and played as a team.

What areas does this team still need to improve upon?
We need to quit turning the ball over still. We had 24 turnovers, and at least 10 of those were unforced -- just bad passes, bad decisions. We have to get a shot every possession, so that's a place we can definitely improve tremendously. Thank goodness we have three more practices before the world championships to get us ready. I think this tournament was helpful. It helps us know what we need to work on, and it's our job to get into practices and get better.

Betnijah Laney
(Smryna H.S./Clayton, DE)
On the USA's third quarter:
We committed more to our defense in the third quarter, and we had less turnovers.

On tonight's game:
I think our loss to Australia was a wake-up call for us. In our minds, we thought we had that game won, so we didn't play as hard as we did today. We didn't want to have another loss, so we pulled together and came out strong.

How helpful was this tournament in advance of the world championships next week?
This tournament gave us an idea of what we are going to face in France, so it helped us prepare and understand what we have to do.

What areas does this team still need to improve upon?
We need to cut down on our turnovers, make our foul shots and raise our shooting percentage.

Jewell Loyd
(Niles West H.S./Lincolnwood, IL)
On tonight's game:
From the start, even in the locker room getting ready, everyone motivated everyone, and we came out with a lot of energy. We came out really hard and tough, and we followed it through and came out with a win.

On the USA's third quarter:
We feed off of their misses, and we pushed the ball. We did what we needed to do, got the ball to our posts and made easy layups.

How helpful was this tournament in advance of the world championships next week?
This tournament was good. We got to see what our weaknesses are and what the keys to the game are and how we have to trust one another and play tough as a team.

What areas does this team still need to improve upon?
We need to improve our free-throw shooting and better decision-making in terms of taking care of the ball.

Bria Smith
(Christ the King H.S./Massapequa, NY)
On tonight's game:
I think we had intensity from the beginning of tonight's game, and we didn't drop our heads when we were down early. We just keep going, so I thought that was better than we had played.

On the USA's third quarter:
The defense we played, totally shot up our energy, and we just got after it more.

How helpful was this tournament in advance of the world championships next week?
I think our loss to Australia, it kind of opened our eyes that not every game is going to be easy, and we have to work for every possession and not turn the ball over.

What areas does this team still need to improve upon?
Our turnovers, we need to improve on that. Our intensity thoughout the game, we need to improve on that also.

Imani Stafford
(Winward H.S./Los Angeles, CA)
On tonight's game:
Tonight we meshed better as a team, and we all were pumped. The loss to Australia yesterday was a wake-up call, and we all wanted to come out and prove that we were the better team. In the second half we came out and were ready to play. We raised our intensity level and we didn't let up.

Were you nervous when Spain cut the lead to seven in the last few minutes?
I knew we would pull it out, it was just a matter of winning how we wanted to win.

How helpful was this tournament in advance of the world championships next week?
This tournament was very helpful. Now, we proved that we are not only thought to be the better team, but we are.

What areas does this team still need to improve upon?
We definitely need to cut down our turnovers, and we need to communicate on defense better.

Elizabeth Williams
(Princess Anne H.S./Virginia Beach, VA)
What is your reaction to being named MVP of the pre-world championship exhibition tournament?
It's cool to be named MVP, but I still think it's better that we won the tournament as a team. It's a nice feeling, but at the same time we still need to get better if we want to get that world championship trophy.

On tonight's game:
I think we finished at the rim a lot better tonight. We still had trouble with our turnovers, but I think overall, our mental toughness and focus has improved. We didn't crack at all when we were down early.

On the USA's third quarter:
I think we got the momentum and the intensity shifted towards us. We got a couple of good stops, and then a couple of easy layups. After that, we had the momentum on our side.

How helpful was this tournament to the USA?
This tournament was really helpful. We definitely got our focus back after the loss to Australia, and I think it's really prepared us well, got us warmed up and got us really concentrated on what we need to do to win a gold medal.