Additional Quotes: USA 107, Canada 61
• Game Recap
• Box Score
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Jeff Walz (USA and University of Louisville head coach)
On the game:
We shared the ball extremely well. It is a fun group to coach, a great group of young women who are very coachable and willing to do some different things than they normally do with their college teams. You have a group of 12 players who, if they are not the best player they are one of the top two, and now they’ve come together, and they are really doing a great job playing as a team.
Was the plan to push the pace like you did in the win?
We tried to look to get the ball out in transition, but at the same time, tried to execute in the half court. When we didn’t score in transition, we really did a nice job making the extra pass, making them defend us and then, we just shared the ball so well.
On the USA’s defensive effort:
We made some adjustments at halftime, because I thought we gave up too many easy baskets at the start of the game. Overall, yes, really pleased with how we defended.
On the USA’s final game:
We definitely are going to have a big test on Tuesday night against host Japan.
Ariel Atkins (Texas/Duncanville, Texas)
On the game:
It was fun – really exciting, overall. It’s just fun to be out here period, but to be able to play with my teammates was great, and we got to share the ball a lot.
With scoring 107 points today, was there an emphasis on being aggressive?
I think we did a good job of that. I think we saw the openings and we saw that we could push it in transition. Kelsey (Mitchell), Asia (Durr) and Jordin (Canada) did a really good job of pushing the ball downhill for us.
What did you think of the defensive performance?
We did what our coaches asked us to do. We talked about switching certain things in their offense, so I think we did a good job of that.
Monique Billings (UCLA/Corona, Calif.)
On the game:
I’m proud of our team. I thought we showed some great chemistry. We played really hard, shared the ball and just had fun.
With such a big lead early on, was there any struggle staying focused and ahead in the game?
I don’t think so. I think we needed to focus on our defense and containing them. It wasn’t really about the score, but it was about keeping them under a certain amount of points, playing hard and doing the best we could.
Kalani Brown (Baylor/Slidell, La.)
On the game:
I thought everybody played well. We executed, we ran and we shared the ball really well. Our teamwork was at an all-time high.
Did you think the team put together 40 minutes of intense basketball?
At halftime, coach Walz told us not to worry about the scoreboard and to just worry about getting better, and I think we did that very well – not playing nonchalant. We executed and did what we needed to do and got better at the things we needed to work on.
Arike Ogunbowale (Notre Dame/Milwaukee, Wis.)
On the game:
We shared the ball well and had good intensity.
Was the plan to be aggressive and push the tempo?
In the last game we took too many dribbles. Coach said we needed to get it out of our hands, so we tried to push it this game.
Did you think the team put together 40 minutes of intense basketball?
We all came in the game with a purpose, and we kept attacking.
What are your thoughts on the USA’s defense?
We tried to keep them under 60 points, and they had 61, but it was still pretty good defense.
What is it like to play with this group of athletes?
It is super exciting. Everyone is a good player, and everyone can make great passes and shoot, so it’s really easy.
