31-28 after the first period. From the start of the second
period the USA was off and running, outscoring China 30-8 in the stanza. The quarter started with a blocked shot from Fowles, who had been sidelined due to a sore left foot for the previous three games, and included eight U.S. scorers overall and two 3-pointers from Taurasi, who finished with 16 first-half points. The U.S. trapping defense also was
responsible in part for 10 steals and 15 Chinese turnovers. After shooting 1-of-4 from the field
to start the game, the USA heated up to 61.4 percent (27-44 FGs) from the field and 62.5 percent (5-of-8 3pt FGs) from deep in the first half, and recorded 20 assists on 27 made field goals in the first 20 minutes. Moore stole the ball and sank a
Angel McCoughtry provided Geno Auriemma’s U.S. team with a spark off the bench and averaged a team second best 10.9 points per game, while snatching a team high 20 steals.
thought every one of our players was really locked into what we were trying to do. And when Diana Taurasi plays the way she did, that is infectious; the entire team gets caught up in her and makes everybody on the team better.” The victory locked up Group A’s
No. 1 seed for the Americans. Charles and Moore, who grabbed
seven rebounds, added 12 points apiece, and Whalen and Parker each finished with 10. Catchings dished out seven assists.
The USA was a red-hot 62.7 percent
from the field (52-83 FGs), helped by an incredible 82 points in the paint, 21 second-chance points and 30 points in transition. China matched the USA score-for-
score in the first period, and in fact led 6-2 early in the game. The duo of Taurasi and Charles were responsible for the USA’s next 14 points to help the U.S. take its first lead, 16-14, at 4:53. China evened the score at 16-16 and
with 1:31 remaining in the quarter the USA was lagging behind 28-25. The USA closed out the period with a 6-0 run that included two fast-break buckets from McCoughtry to put the USA up
USA Basketball News
3-pointer to open the third quarter and help continue the USA’s blistering pace. A 15-2 run that began with a three from Taurasi, who hit 4-of-5 from 3-point in the game, put the USA ahead 86-42 when McCoughtry scored an offensive rebound at 3:00, and the streak included
a crowd-pleasing alley-oop from Bird to Moore. Overall, the USA outscored China 33-12 in the period to take a 94-48 lead headed into the final quarter. China outscored the USA 20-18 in
the fourth quarter as the Americas breezed in for the 114-66 victory.
USA 91, Canada 48 Stifling defense from the U.S. held
Canada to just 30.2 percent shooting from the field (16-53 FGs) and forced 26 turnovers as the USA cruised to a 91-48 win to move on to the semifinals. “Going into the game, we as coaches
were very aware that every game that Canada has played in this tournament, two or three possessions in each of those games could have affected the game,” said Auriemma. “They were in every game to the end, and their style of play makes you play at their pace, gets you caught up in their style of ball control and limiting how many opportunities you get. So we talked a lot about how we wanted to create the tempo that we wanted and I think right from the beginning we did that, and it just continued the whole game. I thought our
defense has been as good as it’s been at any time since the tournament started, so I was really pleased, really happy with the way our players played today.” The balanced U.S. attack, which
included 29 assists on 35 made field goals, featured 15 points and four assists from Taurasi; 12 points apiece from Fowles and Parker, who also grabbed seven rebounds; and 11 points each from McCoughtry and Moore, who added seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Dominating in nearly every statisti-
cal category, the USA outrebounded Canada 48-31 and tallied 33 points off of 26 turnovers, 48 points in the paint, 21 second-chance points and 20 points on the break. “Yeah, that really needs to be our
focus, and I think, with USA Basketball, we always talk about the points and how many offensive-minded players we have, but that’s the flipside when you play for the national team,” Taurasi said of the team’s defense. “Everyone becomes a
USA 114, China 66 August 5, 2012
USA Bird
Moore
MIN FG FT R A PF PTS 23 2- 4 0- 0 231 6 19 5- 9 0- 0 721 12
Catchings 19 1- 2 0- 0 371 2 Taurasi 21 8-10 2- 2 022 22 Charles 19 6-10 0- 0 522 12 Whalen 16 5- 8 0- 0 141 10 Augustus 19 4-10 0- 1 322 8 McCoughtry 21 8- 8 0- 0 661 16 Jones Cash
Fowles Parker
Song Miao Ma
Gao
Yanyan Zhao Guan
Zhang
10 3- 5 0- 0 410 6 10 2- 5 0- 0 201 4 9 3- 3 0- 0 302 6 14 5- 9 0- 0 642 10
Totals 200 52-83 2- 3 46 33 16 114 CHN
MIN FG FT R A PF PTS 32 4- 6 3- 4 042 15 28 1-10 0- 0 282 2 36 5- 8 0- 0 341 13 29 4- 8 1- 2 320 9
Chen, N. 26 7-15 2- 2 320 16 Li
8 0- 2 0- 0 011 0 6 0- 0 1- 2 100 1 5 1- 3 0- 0 100 3 4 0- 0 0- 0 000 0 4 0- 0 0- 0 100 0
Chen, X. 12 1- 4 2- 2 301 4 Wei
10 1- 3 1- 2 110 3
Totals 200 24-59 10-14 20 22 7 66 USA
China
31 30 33 20 -- 114 28 8 12 18 -- 66
3PT FGs-USA (8-15): Taurasi 4-5, Moore 2-5, Bird 2-2, Augustus 0-2, Whalen 0-1; China (8-20): Song 4-5, Ma 3-5, Zhao 1-2, Miao 0-4, Li 0-2, Gao 0-2; TO-USA 14, China 21; BLKS-USA 5, China 1; STLS-USA 14, China 4.
49
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images
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