Okay, the National team is selling me on "skip the first, show up for the second" basketball. Playing Arizona State all but even (for them) in the first half, the US blew it up in the second, outscoring the Sun Devils 42-23 for the win.

Six team members scored in double figures, and Diana even got herself a techincal.

I was trying to inspire the team, get a spark,” said Taurasi, who had to sit out two games during the WNBA season after a run-in with referees. “I think we went on a 40-0 run after the technical. It was strictly for the team. I haven’t gotten one in awhile so … and you don’t get fined in college. It worked out well for everyone.”

Coach Charli Turne Thorne was not totally unhappy with her team's performance. First, there was youngster Lauren Lacey going all Kalana Green and blocking Lisa Leslie's shot early in the first half.

"If you look at the first five or six minutes and shut the DVD player off, that's who we are," Turner Thorne said. "That's how we have been practicing, executed well offensively and played together. And then all of a sudden, we thought it was going to be easy and played a lot of 1-on-1 basketball, which is very uncharacteristic of us.

Additional team quotes.

Next up, the US has a ridiculously long break two day before they drive-jog-fly the 1,000-plus miles to College Station and meet TaMU on Sunday.

I wonder if they're going to get rusty.