led all scorers with 18 points and tied the U.S. Olympic single-game record for 3-pointers attempted, a mark she reached twice before – in 2004 and 2008. Charles added 16 points, including
12 points in the first half, to go with a game-high 15 rebounds, Moore added 14 points and eight rebounds and Catchings finished with 10 points. Dominating the Czech Republic on
the glass 62-39, including 27 offensive boards, the USA’s 62 team rebounds bet- tered the previous USA single-game Olympic record of 58 that was set against New Zealand in 2004. “On a team like this, scoring is
probably the least of anyone’s concern because we have so many great scorers,” Taurasi said. “You really have to do a lot on the other side of the basketball, so I’ve been more trying to do those things, and then today I got some good looks. Sue found me a couple of times and they went in.” While The USA struggled to find its
shooting eye, shooting just 38.8 percent while attempting 90 field goals (35-90 FGs) to tie the U.S. Olympic record for field goals attempted, its rebounders cleaned up the misses to tally 24 second- chance points. Meanwhile, its defense held Czech Republic to a chilly 35.7 percent overall shooting and a dismal 28.6 percent from 3-point (6-21 3pt FGs). The Czech’s jumped to a 10-0 lead
to start the contest before the USA finally got on the scoreboard. Bird, who finished with nine assists, found Moore for a 3-pointer and then a jumper to kick start a 13-2 run that also featured six points form Charles. The Czechs called a timeout at 4:52
with the USA owning its first lead of the game, 13-12. With the USA scoring from the field, the Czechs sank four 3-pointers to retake a 26-24 lead with a 3-pointer at 1:08 that marked the last points of the quarter. In fact, Czech Republic was 6- of-11 from deep in the first 10 minutes. Moore tied the score at 26 apiece
with a pull-up jumper at 8:17, but the Czech’a responded right back. The lead changed hands three more times before the USA finally took control. Trailing 32-31, Charles put the USA
back on top for good with six straight points that were the start of a 17-6 U.S. run that saw the second quarter close
48
Candace Parker averaged 10.8 ppg. and a team high 7.8 rpg., and in the gold medal game recorded with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds.
with the Americans leading 48-38. Thanks in part to the U.S. defense,
USA 88, Czech Republic 61 August 3, 2012
USA Bird
Moore Jones
MIN FG FT R A PF PTS 23 0- 3 0- 0 29 1 0 23 6-16 0- 0 82 1 14 8 1- 2 0- 0 10 3 2
Catchings 19 5- 9 0- 0 14 1 10 Taurasi 25 6-13 2- 2 42 0 18 Whalen 20 2- 5 4- 4 92 1 8 Augustus 18 2- 5 0- 0 11 0 5 McCoughtry 18 4-12 0- 0 11 20 8 Cash
Charles 21 7-16 2- 2 15 11 16 Parker Fowles
9 0- 2 0- 0 10 0 0 16 2- 7 3- 5 41 4 7
DNP-Injured
Totals 200 35-90 11-13 62 24 12 88 CZE
Vesela
Burgrova 9 1- 4 2- 2 315 4 Horakova 16 1- 6 0- 0 320 2 Elhotova 25 1- 8 0- 0 301 2 Viteckova 20 4- 7 1- 2 402 12 Zrustova 21 6- 9 2- 2 200 15 Bartonova 17 2- 5 0- 0 230 5 Zohnova 11 1- 4 0- 0 100 2 Hanusova 16 2- 6 0- 0 200 4 Bartakova 8 1- 3 0- 0 200 2 Kulichova 24 0- 5 0- 2 305 0 Peckova 21 3- 8 0- 0 510 7 Totals 200 25-70 5- 8 39 9 14 61
USA 24 24 22 18 -- 88 Czech Republic 26 12 9 14 -- 61
3PT FGs-USA (7-22): Taurasi 4-8, Moore 2-7, Augustus 1-2, Bird 0-3, McCoughtry 0-1, Catchings 0-1; Czech Republic (6-21): Viteckova 3-4, Zrustova 1-3, Peckova 1-1, Bartonova 1-1, Elhotova 0-5, Horakova 0-4, Zohnova 0-2, Vesela 0-1; TO-USA 13, Czech Republic 20; BLKS-USA 3, Czech Republic 4; STLS-USA 12, Czech Republic 7.
MIN FG FT R A PF PTS 12 3- 5 0- 0 221 6
the Czech’s shooting cooled of completely from behind the 3-point arc in the second period, shooting 0-of-4, while the USA shared the ball to record 13 assists on 18 made baskets in the first half.
The inside duo of
Charles and Parker also was responsible for drawing seven Czech fouls in the first half, and while Czech Republic’s Petra Kulichova and Ilona Burgrova suffered from foul trouble, Burgrova fouled out early at 3:46 in the third quarter. Taurasi kicked off the
second half with a 3-pointer and then sank another at 6:10 to put the USA up
58-40. After two points from Czech Republic, the USA compiled its largest run of the game, a 10-0 spurt that began and ended with points from Charles off of an assist from Moore. The Czech Republic then tallied six
unanswered points of its own before McCoughtry scored to push the USA ahead 70-47 headed into the fourth quarter. With the game’s outcome firmly in
hand, the USA outscored its European opponent 18-14 in the final period to earn the 88-61 victory.
USA 114, China 66 A three-point lead after the first
quarter ballooned to 25 points by halftime and continued to grow as the U.S. raced to a record-setting 114-66 win over China. Led by 22 points and four steals
from Taurasi, the USA featured six players in double-digit scoring and set U.S. Olympic records for assists with 33 and field goals made with 52. McCoughtry, who finished with 16
points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals, was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field to set a individual single-game mark for field goal percentage. Additionally, after dribbling out its
final possession, the USA tied its all-time Olympic single game scoring high of 114 points that had also been tallied against Spain in 1992. “Today we came out really
focused,” remarked Auriemma. “I USA Basketball News
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images
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