Team USA coach Kara Lawson speaks out on prognosticators after dominant FIBA World Cup win over Hungary
Team USA coach Kara Lawson speaks out on prognosticators after dominant FIBA World Cup win over Hungary
Team USA womens basketball coach Kara Lawson dismissed outside opinions after the 108-56 in the FIBA Womens World Cup quarterfinal Thursday.
During the postgame press conference, Lawson was asked if a recent power ranking provided her team with any added motivation entering the final stage of the tournament.
Lawson admitted she did not know about the ranking, but addressed those who may have more confidence which appeared to be the more dominant team during group play.
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"This is a big tournament, this is the World Cup, and its okay for people to have opinions on who they think is going to win and who they think is going to lose and who theyre cheering for and who theyre going to boo. Thats a competition, I think thats why we love sport, its why its so exciting," Lawson said.
"And now in this moment in womens basketball you have more people than ever before that are giving their opinions and theyre making rankings and theyre doing that. Thats all great, we clearly dont talk about any of that inside our bubble, and we really just focus on what we need to do.
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"Worrying about someone elses opinion doesnt serve you, because it doesnt change whether you can do it or not. Its just someones opinion."
FIBA moved France ahead of the United States in its final "Smart Power Rankings" following the group stage. The Americans fell to second after narrowly escaping Italy with a 55-52 victory, their lowest-scoring World Cup performance since the introduction of the 3-point line in 1984.
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The ranking also described the Americans on-court connections as a "work in progress." However, FIBA included a disclaimer stating that its rankings were "entirely subjective" and did not constitute an accurate ranking system.
"As far as France, what a wonderful team, and theyve had an outstanding World Cup so far, so they should have a lot of people thinking they can do well," Lawson said.
France strengthened its case Thursday with a 90-61 quarterfinal victory over China. The French remain on the opposite side of the bracket, meaning they could only face the United States in the championship game.
One of the biggest factors affecting the outlook for Lawsons team entering the knockout stage was concern over the starting lineup. Lawson did not directly address that debate following Thursdays victory.
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Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese once again came off the bench
