Blogs > Elm City to Eagleville

A blog on UConn women's basketball.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Stokes, U.S. win big again

UConn recruiting target Kiah Stokes had 10 points, four rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot as the United States rolled to a 34-10 win over Korea in the quarterfinals of the Youth Olympic Games. Amber Henson led the U.S. with 18 points.

With the win, the U.S. advances to play Australia in the semifinals of the 3-on-3 tournament. Canada and China, who like the U.S. are 5-0 in the tournament, will meet in the other semifinal. Canada and China are up first at 2 a.m. Sunday followed by U.S. and Australia.

Here are some quotes from Stokes, a 6-foot-3 forward/center from Marion, Iowa, courtesy of USA Basketball.

How have you and Amber been so successful during this tournament?
We just have to be physical with their posts, and we usually have a height advantage. So we just use that to our advantage as much as we can, and I think it works out.

How did you adjust to Korea’s different defensive look?
They started sagging on us, and coach just told us to try to use their defender as a screen to try to clog up the lane a little bit and to go off that. Mostly, we just tried to take outside shots, but they weren’t really falling, so we just kind of forced it back in and penetrated.

What does the team need to do to get the gold medal?
We’re confident. We know that if we play the best we can play, no one can beat us. So we just need to keep playing hard and getting stops on defense, and we should win the gold.

Overall, what’s it been like at this tournament?
Yeah, it’s definitely fun. Coming in, we really didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been fun. The game is a little more one-on-one, so it’s kind of like playing back at home with your friends on the playground. Plus, it’s a fun environment, and in the arena they have music and announcers. It’s a really fun and lively atmosphere to be in


Just a reminder for those interested in seeing UConn coach Geno Auriemma, he will be at the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament on Wednesday. He is slated to do a live interview with Bruce Barber around 4 p.m. on the Sony Ericsson Stage and at 5 p.m. he will be in the Pilot Pen booth signing autographs. Auriemma's Geno Cancer Team began a partnership with the Pilot Pen this year where his cancer fundraising project will receive 5 percent of proceeds from tickets purchased online from June 1-Aug. 20 using the promotion code VF10.

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