Additional Quotes >> USA 82, Canada 51

Aug. 1, 2009 - Bangkok, Thailand

USA head coach Carol Owens (Northern Illinois University)
Was there anything the team didn't do right against Canada, were you pleased with their entire effort?
I think we only had three turnovers in the first half and then there was a point in the third quarter where we kind of got on a little spurt where we turned the ball over too much. We called a time out to talk about that. So I want to take care of the ball better. Sometimes you look at the score and you get out of hand. We have to be mature enough to really work on things that we need to work on, even if you're up by a sizeable amount.

How do you keep the team on track after gaining such a big lead?
We need to continue to remind them to not playing to the score, but work on what we need to do to get better. That's what we talked about today.

How does it feel to be playing for the gold medal?
It feels very good, very good. I told the team we've got one more game. They're excited and I think they have to be looking forward to this opportunity.

On the USA's first-half effort:
The first half was as good as we've played since we've been here. Being an assistant two years ago, I felt that team got better, we were a similar team, we had some great players, but we got better as the games went on. I'm very proud of how this team came out and was ready to play. That's something that we've been constantly stressing with this team: to come out with some defensive intensity.

LaSondra Barrett (Louisiana State / Jackson, Miss.)
Was that the best half this team has put together?
Oh yeah. Over the whole tournament I think that was the best half. We just came out with a spark. Everybody contributed, we played team ball. We just did a great job of sharing the ball, playing defense and rebounding.

Do you feel you're peaking at the right time?
Yeah. Pretty much. I think everybody's excited and ready to play this gold medal game. I think everybody came with focus, with the intentions of beating Canada and moving on to the gold medal game.

Were you a little surprised at how the game started?
No, because I knew what we were capable of. They couldn't handle our press and we knew their personnel, which players were their go-to players. Once we stopped them and they couldn't get any shots to fall, we just capitalized. We did an excellent job of limiting our turnovers and getting them to make turnovers.

Kelsey Bone (Dulles H.S. /Stafford, Texas)
On her play against Canada:
We're down the stretch, we're close now. We have one more game and we know what we have to do. For me, it's about being so close to the gold medal I can taste it. I just wanted to get in there and give it everything I have and do whatever the team needs.

What kind of progression have you seen with this team?
I think our progression has really come on the defensive end. At the beginning we were kind of shaky and we had to figure out some things to do. Now, we're all able to pick up our press and go full court man, which we might not have been able to do when we first got here. For us, we've made a big, big progression on the defensive end because we can all score and that's something we've really been working on.

After Canada beat Australia yesterday, did you think the USA would be able to jump out like that?
I was really, really psyched. We came out and the score was like 17-3, that was really shocking. But we couldn't worry about them. We had to keep playing our game and build on that. We set goals where we wanted to keep them under (certain markers). I think we did a really good job of shutting them down.

Skylar Diggins (Washington H.S. / South Bend, Ind.)
On advancing to the gold medal game:
We're glad to be here. We really came out intense today trying to take care of business early. We set the tone early tonight. Everybody came out with so much energy. You could tell we were having so much fun out there. That's also a big reason why we came, we came here to have a good time and to take care of business at the same time. You could definitely see that in the opening half.

It looked like you were all having fun out there. Was that the case?
We're out here to take care of business and when everybody's clicking and making shots, that shows. You have to have fun even though it is a game. We came out here to take care of business, but at the same time basketball is a game. We love this game. We're going to have fun with the game. Winning is fun. We take care of business first, but as we're taking care of business we try to have a good time and keep the positive energy going, try to keep encouraging one another.

This was probably the first game the USA came out and started clicking right at the beginning. Does this mean things are coming together?
Definitely. I think we have great team momentum, great team synergy. Our cohesiveness and our togetherness, we're starting to move full throttle, playing our best basketball right now. What a good time to peak, right before the gold medal game. This game gave a lot of kids confidence. You saw what a lot of us can do. We're going to take this momentum into the gold medal game and give it all we've got, leave it all out on the court.

When you play Spain tomorrow, will you come out with a chip on your shoulder?
No, I don't think you come out with any chip on your shoulder. We're still going to come out, look to execute our plans and look at what we need to do. I don't think you can come out with any extra chip, but it is for all the marbles, so we are going to come out like it is.

And you're celebrating your birthday tomorrow:
Hopefully, what a better birthday present than having a gold medal put around my neck with these girls, this team and everybody who came out with us.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike (Stanford / Cypress, Texas)
How does it feel to be heading into the gold medal game?
It feels pretty good. We've been trying our best, we've been progressing and I think we've gotten a whole lot better since the first game.

Are you looking forward to a rematch with Spain?
Without a doubt. We should have proven our point earlier, but if there's any time that we should, it's now. Especially for the gold medal game. Spain's a really good team. We have to come out with the intensity that we came out with against Canada today.

What has the team improved on most over the course of the last three weeks?
I think the rigor in how we play, definitely. Our defense has definitely improved. Us, as a team, as a whole, we're amalgamating, we're playing as a team. We're coming together, kind of like the puzzle pieces are all coming together now.

Samantha Prahalis (Ohio State / Dix Hills, N.Y.)
On the first half effort against Canada:
We brought a lot of energy. From one to five, the people on the bench, the coaches, we just had a lot of energy. We want to win gold, we wanted to get to that gold medal game and win. We knew that if we lose, we can't get there. So we just tried to come out in every possession and play hard.

On the USA's bench:
It's really important because your body gets tired after all these games. To know that the person going in next is going to bring the same intensity, it helps out a lot.

How does it feel to be playing for a gold medal?
It feels great, I'm excited.

On playing Spain for the gold medal:
Spain … we want some revenge with Spain. They like to drive to the basket. They can rebound. They play an overall pretty good game.

Destiny Williams (Benton Harbor H.S. / Benton Harbor, Mich.)
Did you expect the USA to jump out to such a quick lead?
Actually, we did. We played them once before and we came out, started to sag and had to pick it up in the third quarter. So this time we knew we had to come out hard in order to get a great start.

On her rebounding effort:
We had to get after it. You can't score without the ball. So that's my job, to rebound. I had to go in and crash the boards at all times and I did just that. That helped the team continue to score.

How does it feel to be in the gold medal game?
It feels great to be in the gold medal game, to be one of the final teams here. We've been here for two weeks now, we've been playing hard and I hope our hard work pays off tomorrow.