USA WOMEN WIN GOLD!
Leslie had 14 points and seven rebounds against
“I’m just so overwhelmed right now,” she said. “It’s really hard to put into words what we’ve been able to do in one month.
“This
The Australians lived a nightmare from the end of the first quarter to the final buzzer.
Penny Taylor sprained her ankle in the quarterfinal win over the
Lauren Jackson is also not 100% and will arthroscopic surgery next week for ankle injury.
Nothing should be taken away from the Americans, though.
Their defense was constant and outstanding.
They contested nearly every shot of the Australians, who never got out of first gear and finished a woeful 24% (13 of 54) inside the arc.
Jackson, who had just six points in the first half when the
“We are going to talk about it after a while. It's hard, it's really hard. The Americans outclassed us today. They played a better game tonight than what we did."
“We started well but then we made mistakes. Against a team like this, you have to play for 40 minutes. We shot the ball crap."
The
Lawson had a team-high 15 points, two assists and three rebounds in 18 minutes.
“I’m really proud of my team,” said Anne Donovan. “We shot the ball well, we defended well. I can’t be prouder of this team.
“It’s the best team in terms of selflessness of the teams I’ve been with.”
Donovan had been at the helm of the 2006 FIBA World Championship team that lost to
“I was really disappointed to have guided the team to a bronze at the World Championship because we felt we were better.
“That drove me every day from 2006. No one put more pressure on me than I put on myself. I feel we got a bit of redemption here. Now I can have a good night’s sleep.”
Only Belinda Snell looked like her normal self during the first two quarters on Saturday, leading the Opals with 15 points.
“Penny was at 50% tonight and because of the ankle, she probably lost a bit of confidence,” Harrower said.
“I think we played well over the two weeks, but we didn’t play great. We believed that we could win the gold medal, but against a quality team like the
Suzy Batkovic had nine rebounds to go with her eight points but was a nightmarish three of 14 from the floor.
“This was the least preparation an
“You know as a coach that you needed more preparation.”
Donovan, however, didn’t have much time either with her team.
“I can empathise with Jan, but we had three and a half weeks.”
Donovan said the players, in a very short space of time, grasped the concepts in practice and praised their self-less attitude.
When asked about her future with the national team,
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