Additional Quotes >> Spain 90, USA 86

July 23, 2009 - Bangkok, Thailand

USA head coach Carol Owens (Northern Illinois University)
On today's game:
Spain is a very good team. They are hard to guard, especially for our big players. They sent them out on the perimeter, they set a lot of screens. We got ourselves in foul trouble, we dug ourselves a hole. We fought back hard, but it's important for us to take this game and understand how a sense of urgency right from the beginning is so important against any team.

What kind of learning experience was this for the team today?
I think it was a great learning experience about how preparation is important. There was obviously a lot going on, but we have a team that has to grow in time. They have to grow each game. For them, some people were very amped and some people were too laid back. The combination just didn't mix.

What do you need to do for this to not happen again?
We have to come prepared. For us, every game matters. We have to retrain our thoughts and get ready for the next game. We need to play team defense, that's important. We need to play defense without fouling.

On coming back in the second half, only to lose the lead again:
We came back. Skylar and Sam were in foul trouble throughout the game. When Sam and Sky got their four fouls we had that spurt where we had to play without them. I hope that we can become better defenders without fouling and adjust to the officiating because that's something that we have to overcome. We need to understand what it is we need to do. I'm disappointed that we lost, but I hope that our team learns and gets better from it in the long run.

Skylar Diggins (Washington H.S. / South Bend, Ind.)
On today's game:
We just didn't play defense. We fouled too much. Even if we don't think they're fouls, the ref called them so they're fouls. We came out like we were afraid. Even though I know we weren't, that's how it seemed. It was hard to get our momentum going. It was hard to get us started and catch on fire. Once we finally did it was too late. We put ourselves in a big hole, we dug ourselves deep. This is a wake-up call for us and a lesson that everyone's after us. Everyone wants to beat the USA. They were putting everybody out there on the line, trying to do anything they could to try to get in our heads. They were the better team tonight.

Did you learn anything from this game?
They're ready to play and if we're not, things like that are going to happen. Like I said, everybody wants to beat us. Everybody wants to come after us. Everybody knows that we're the United States and we're supposed to be the best. So they're going to come after us and try to prove something different.

What did coach Owens talk to you about at halftime?
(She told us) that we needed to wake up. If we wanted to win, we had to start playing ball. She said we dug a deep hole, but we just need to take it one play at a time and we can get it back. And we did. We were up. We just need to work on our defense. We need to sit our butts down and have pride on defense from now on.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike (Stanford / Cypress, Texas)
On Spain:
They're definitely an internationally experienced team. They were hitting a lot of shots. They started off with more of a fire than we did at the beginning. We started a little late and it was harder for us to catch up to their fire.

You were down 17 points in the first half, how were you able to come back from that?
C.O., coach Owens, talked to us at halftime in the locker room and was telling us ‘this isn't how we play. We need to come out with intensity.' It finally clicked. After halftime we definitely made a run.

What kind of adjustments do you need to make to keep teams off the free throw line?
We need to figure out exactly how the refs operate. Obviously today was a taste of what we'll be experiencing down the road. We just have to play around those fouls, play defense and move our feet.

Do you think this gives confidence to other teams the USA might face later in the tournament?
Definitely. I think a lot of teams here want to win gold. But I feel that a lot of teams would rather beat America than win gold. Obviously the way Spain celebrated after the game … I saw China, they got excited and I knew they were cheering for Spain. We have to take that in as motivation for ourselves and know that everyone's here to beat us. Everyone wants to beat us for a reason, we're known to be a successful team and we need to show them that we are successful.

What kind of adjustments do you need to make before going up against China tomorrow?
Mostly we need to work on our communication. Communication has a lot to do with the game. With communication, with us talking with each other, it brings a lot of intensity. That will solve a lot of problems. That and defense.

A lot of the USA's turnovers were due to bad passes. Does that have a lot to do with communication?
I would think it's kind of that we're all in the same book, we're just not on the same page. That has a lot to do with communication. That's a problem that can easily be fixed.

Samantha Prahalis (Ohio State / Dix Hills, N.Y.)
How was Spain able to jump out on the USA team?
They just came out excited. They were ready to play. We got off to a slow start and got ourselves into a hole. We fought back, but a couple calls went their way. We can't come out that way, we have to keep fighting. They definitely came out ready to play more than us.

Everyone's been saying that the competition this year is at a much higher level than the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Has that hit home now?
Definitely. It's not going to be easy, by any means, like last year. These teams know how to play, they know how to move the ball and they know how to shoot, for sure. Spain was shooting pretty well. We have to tighten up on everything and we'll be alright.

On the physicality of the international game:
I guess we were over aggressive. There were some tough calls, but we just have to play sound defense, move our feet more and don't reach on silly fouls.

What positives can you take away from this loss?
I think it was a wake-up call. Now we're awake. Now we know that everyone wants to beat us. Everyone has something to prove against us and now we're ready.

Chay Shegog (North Carolina / Stafford, Va.)
Was this a good learning experience for you and your team?
Definitely. For me, it was my first international game so I now know what to do, what not to do. Everything like that. I think this is like a wake-up call and I believe we're going to come out much harder tomorrow.

What kind of defensive adjustments do you need to make against China tomorrow?
We need to lock down on defense and not let up. Even for a second, because in that second someone could go by you. Other adjustments we need to make are mental. We have to know the game, we have to know what they're doing. We can't let anything get to us. We have to play USA Basketball.

The USA didn't seem to come out with as much intensity as Spain did in the first half. Do you feel that was the case?
I think so. The way we started the second half is how we need to start the game. We need to come out like that after every quarter, every time out, we need to come out like that on every play.

On the USA's fouling:
We need to make our defense solid. We can't reach. We can't hand-check. We can't push. What they're doing to us, we have to take that and play solid, fundamental basketball. The refs aren't going to make every single call. We can't depend on them to bail us out. We have to keep our heads and keep on playing.

On Spain's shooting:
They're a real good shooting team. They could really shoot. We needed to play defense, adjust and rebound. We can't let them get second-chance shots.

What kind of learning experience is this for you and the team?
Out of this whole thing, right now it's more of a pride issue. When you're out there playing, you have U-S-A on the front of your shirt. You're representing your country. You don't want to lose and then have all the other countries go, ‘oh, America just lost.' You want to go hard and after every game you want them to be like, ‘dang! We don't want to play them.' That's how it has to be. We have to come out with intensity every game.