Quotes >> USA 133, Japan 71

July 21, 2010 • Rodez, France

Barbara Nelson
(USA and Wingate University head coach)
On tonight's game:
We knew we had a size advantage, and so the game plan was to go inside as early and as often as we possibly could and establish in the paint, forcing them to defend that to get a little easier shots on the perimeter. Japan is extremely quick, and so we needed to negate their quickness with our size, which was the game plan. The girls did a great job. We never talked about that we had already qualified. The coaches never mentioned that. We didn't think that was important. We thought the game today was what was important.

On the USA's adjustment to Japan's quickness:
I thought we adjusted really well to their speed. They are extremely quick, and we rotated who gets back on defense and instead of sending four players to the boards with one back on defense, we sent the shooter out every time with the point guard to slow them up. So, I felt like our kids did a really good job of adjusting to that and trying to slow the speed. Anytime that you can continue to put the ball inside and force all of them to come in and help and rebound, then you can negate some of that speed because they have to run 94 feet just like we were running instead of being out on the perimeter and getting there quicker. So, I felt like using our size and going inside was going to negate their speed.

The USA has run the floor in the past few games, is that a point of emphasis, or the style of this team?
It was our style last year. I mean, we ripped it out of the net and ran on every possession. We knew that this year in the world championships, you would see many more teams that could match us speed-wise and defensive-wise, so we knew we had to improve as a half court basketball team if we were forced to play that style. So, we've really been working very hard at being able to play half court and dominate that. The last two teams liked to get up and down and run, which allowed us to do that to and it not just be a half court game.

Is the USA prepared for the medal round?
I still would like to see us improve ... We've got to improve on out-of-bounds plays, and there is certainly many more areas we can continue to improve, but I feel like we have a real focus and a real drive. And our kids yesterday and today really shared the basketball, didn't care who scored. I believe the stat sheets said we had seven in double figures and two more young ladies had eight, so they were really close to double figures. That makes you a pretty deadly team when lots of people can score.

Cierra Burdick
(Butler H.S./Matthews, NC)
On tonight's game:
We were glad to come out with this win. We wanted to take this momentum from this game and bring it into the medal rounds and carry the momentum so we can hopefully go out and play our best game every game and bring an intensity that we brought out to this game.

On the USA's focus despite being qualified as the No. 1 seed:
We weren't really looking at that, the fact that we already qualified, we just come out every day and every game and try to bring our A game and bring our best game. We don't look at the score, we just try to improve ourselves every play and every possession and get our best game so we can carry it on through these next three games in Toulouse.

Was today more fun than previous games just in the speed of the game?
We've never played a game that fast, and I know I was talking to Ariel in the locker room and she says that's her favorite type of game, so I think we really enjoyed this fast pace and the type of game that Japan brought to us. They really get up and down the floor, and we enjoyed that because we also like to run. So, it was a benefit for both teams. We enjoyed it, and we had fun.

Imani Stafford
(Winward H.S./Los Angeles, CA)
Is this the way you wanted to end preliminary round play?
This was a very good way to end preliminary round play. We played well as a team, and we all scored, so that was a great thing. We not only executed our game plan, which is what we have been talking about, but we got better.

What was the game plan?
The game plan was to make sure the ball went into the paint first, and then open up outside shots and work as a team, and that's what we did.

On the USA's defense:
Defensively we are doing a lot better. This type of team is the style of team that has been our weakness throughout the tournament. We stopped the penetration, and we limited the threes, which was our problem against Turkey yesterday.

Is this team ready for the medal rounds?
Yeah, we are ready. I think we have improved tremendously. Not only is everyone finding their roles, but we are all buckling down on defense, every single player.

Breanna Stewart
(Cicero-North Syracuse H.S./North Syracuse, NY)
What was the game plan tonight, and did the USA execute that?
The game plan was to feed the ball into the post because their size wasn't as big as ours, and we just kept feeding it until they started double and triple-teaming down low, and then the guards were open, and everything started working for us.

What did if feel like for you personally to have such an outstanding game?
Really today was just like any other game when someone else is scoring. Pretty much everyone on our team can score, and there might be one person who does a little more each game, but that's just the way we play.

What is it like to play on a team with so much depth?
It's a lot of fun to play on this team. You are playing with all good players, so you are getting better, getting better passes, they know where to pass it to you and know when to shoot.

Has this team improved over the last five games?
We have definitely improved. Back in Spain in exhibition we were having a lot of turnovers, and that is limited now. I feel like we are working the ball around a lot better.

Is this the way you wanted to end preliminary round play?
We definitely wanted to end preliminary play with a nice win like this against one of the better teams in our pool.

Is this team ready for the medal rounds?
I think we are going to be ready. I think this win helped us get even more pumped up and just want to keep going and keep working hard.

Elizabeth Williams
(Princess Anne H.S./Virginia Beach, VA)
What was the game plan tonight, and did the USA execute that?
Our game plan was to get the ball inside, definitely in the first half to let the ball hit the paint before any outside shots went up, and I think we executed that really well.

What does having seven players in double figures say about this team?
I think it just shows that we've improved tremendously over the past five games, and it shows that we've been getting better and teamwork is really important to us.

Is this the way you wanted to end preliminary round play?
I think we definitely had fun in this game. I think coach just really emphasized how we needed to end preliminary play with a lot of momentum, and I think the way we came out today really showed that.

What does this team still need to improve upon?
I still think defense. We can get better still at stopping penetration and limiting 3-pointers. We knew that they would shoot a lot of threes, but we still gave up too many. We can always improve on that.

On advancing to the medal round:
I'm really excited. This is basically what you play for, a chance at the gold medal, and now we are finally here, so I think we are ready for it.