Moore: "We've a few things to clean up, but they're all fixable"

ISTANBUL (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Maya Moore was once again the fulcrum of another USA win at the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women.

This time, the 82-70 defeat of Australia took the reigning women's world champions into Sunday's Final against EuroBasket Women 2013 winners Spain.

Moore, who had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in leading USA's fifth straight win at FIBA's leading women's basketball event, spoke to FIBA.com moments after the Semi-Final win.

FIBA.com: Congratulations on returning to the Final. What are your thoughts?
Moore: Thanks. It feels great. We are one step closer to the goal everybody comes to this tournament for. There were a lot of things we did right today. Still (there are) a handful of things we would like to clean up on. We are going to take this energy and drive and bring it the game tomorrow.

FIBA.com: What were the things you did right today?
Moore: I thought we did a great job of attacking the paint and trying to get inside. After we swung the ball a little bit, we had good ball movement and we were able to score. And our defense was really, really great for a majority of the game which got us in some transition. Our point guards did a great job pushing the pace and setting the tempo. And everybody else filled in.

FIBA.com: You said there are a few things you need to do better tomorrow…
Moore: I think we had some turnovers (the USA committed 19 turnovers and got just 2 steals, while Australia had 12 turnovers against 7 steals) that we didn't have to. We want to do a better job of keeping them (their opponents) off the free-throw line. Just be a little smarter on defense. Just some communication errors, but those are all fixable.

FIBA.com: What are your thoughts on Spain?
Moore: They are great. They are a really passionate team. They've got talent at every position. They don't quit. They've got some versatile post players. They can shoot the ball and pass the ball pretty well. We have to be disciplined in our job against them and make sure they don’t get anything extra.

I think two of the best teams are playing the Final. I think each team has proved that they are worthy of being in this game. It's going to a game worthy of being the Final of a World Championship.

FIBA