USA forward Tina Charles finished with a game high 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting
I understand, with the level of talent on the USA roster it's expected that they should come together at any time and have instant chemistry, executing at a level that will keep head coach Geno Auriemma happy and of course win the Gold. Sometimes what's expected isn't realistic. USA has had a total of four practices since they've came together and it has shown at times with sloppy play on both ends, although, when the time to knock out the opponent came, USA delivers with deadly efficiency. It happened again against a feisty France team. Forward Tina Charles posted a game high 17 points and 5 rebounds with guard/forward Maya Moore adding 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assist and 3 steals to lead USA to a 84-62 win. After a uncharacteristic sloppy first half that resulted in USA only leading by one 32-31, the ladies came out in the second half with a sense urgency. USA outscored France 31-15 in the third quarter on 70 percent shooting from the field, 66 percent shooting from deep and perfection from the free throw line. France would never recover.
"Patience is probably going to be our biggest attribute," USA guard Diana Taurasi said. "We've been together for four days, and sometimes you expect it to just happen overnight. So that other game against the Select Team (Monday), there was some things we were like, 'Man, we've got to clean up.' And I think Wednesday was a step in the right direction, because there were things we needed to fix and we actually got them done. So for us that's a big step."
"We have so many good players that it takes little bit of time for us to get our bearings,' USA head coach Geno Auriemma said. "But we came out in the second half, and I think Dee was a lot more aggressive. Sylvia (Fowles) just was incredible. And the same with Stewie. We got a lot of great energy and great stuff from the bench in the second half that we really didn't get in the first half. So, that was probably the biggest thing."
"Diana (Taurasi) is probably our most unselfish player," Auriemma said. "But in the first half she didn't take any shots and I told her, you need to be more aggressive. And she said "coach I'm good, I'm good" and I told her " yea, but I'm not lol, shoot the ball."
Playing in her hometown, USA forward Elena Delle-Donne finished with 10 points and 2 rebounds with every bucket scored receiving a standing ovation from the Delaware crowd. Diana Taurasi posted 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assist in the win. France was led by forward Marine Johannes 13 points and center Endy Miyem's 10 points and 3 rebounds.
Diana Taurasi was locked in all game scoring 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting from the field and 2 of 4 shooting from 3-point range