help the USA take a 62-23 halftime lead. “It was lot of fun tonight,” Parker
said. “It was good team win. I think everybody has fun when everybody touches the ball. We had movement, we were pressing. Defensively, we did a lot better on our screen-and-roll coverage and our rotation, talking and getting out in passing lanes.” Scoring the first six points of the
second half for the USA, Charles became the first USA player to reach double figures at 8:52 after an inside feed from Taurasi, who finished with nine points and five assists in the game. Bird also dished out five assists to go with her eight points, and Whalen added four dimes to help the USA record 23 assists. Auriemma changed his entire side at
5:03 in the third quarter, helping the USA to continue to push the pace, and an offensive put-back from Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun) that just beat the third period buzzer put the Americans ahead by 48 points, 88-40. The USA, which shot 51.6
percent from the field overall (47-91 FGs) and 90.9 percent from the free throw line (10-11 FTs), went on to outscore Croatia 21-15 in the fourth period to record a 109-55 win – another high for the U.S. squad in 2012. Moore grabbed a game-high eight
rebounds to go with four steals, while McCoughtry collected six steals to go with her nine points.
USA 80, Turkery 61 In a game that was much closer
than the final score indicated, the USA needed nearly all 40 minutes before it was able to put away host Turkey in an 80-61 exhibition win on July 22 in Istanbul, Turkey. The USA’s depth eventually wore
down Turkey, as the Americans found some breathing room in the fourth quarter after leading by no more than eight points in the first 30 minutes. The USA was an icy 0-for-7 from
the field to start the game, just 28.6 percent from the field (6-21 FGs) in the first period and finished shooting 45.8 percent overall (33-72 FGs). “We had to make plays. We had to
get stops, and they are a really, really good team,” said Auriemma. “They have a lot of weapons, they have a lot of ways
58
Earning an Olympic gold medal in 2004 and missing the 2008 Games because of an injury, Swin Cash was back in uniform and helped lead the USA to another gold medal showing.
Parker collected a game-high 12 rebounds to go with her eight points, despite being in foul trouble, along with Charles. Both players were whistled for four infractions.
Buoyed by its home crowd, Turkey
opened on a 6-0 run to start the game, however, the USA countered with a 7-0 spurt to take its first lead, 7-6, when Charles scored an offensive rebound at 5:25.
The lead changed hands four more times, as well as three tied scores over
they can beat you and they are really smart. We gave them a lot of life. We missed a lot of opportunities that would have made it much easier for us, but maybe in the long run that’s better too. It’s easy to win when you shoot (70.8) percent like we did last night. It’s another thing when you shoot 35.0 percent in the first half and are able to beat a really good team by 19. So yeah, it showed some of our flaws and our warts, like everybody else has, and we’ve got four more practices to fix it and then we are on the big stage.” Augustus led the Americans with 16
points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and dished out three assists, Taurasi added 14 points and Fowles scored 12.
the next 4:35, before a made free throw from Fowles at 1:08 ended the first stanza with the USA up by one, 17-16. A back-door cut from Whalen
opened the second quarter for the USA, but Turkey sank a 3-pointer to once again even the score at 19-19 at 8:23. A 3-pointer from Taurasi was
followed by six points from Augustus to help the USA build a five point, 28-23, lead at 5:03. The teams traded baskets over the remainder of the first half, and the Americans took a 32-27 lead into the halftime locker room. “It was a great crowd,” Whalen said.
“They were going crazy when they were on their runs. They were really on us when we had the ball, they were trying to disrupt things. I think it’s good to play in this atmosphere. It’s fun and you get to really see what their excitement level is. It’s great to see a crowd like that. It definitely gets us ready for London.” Two 3-pointers after halftime
helped Turkey narrow the gap, and with a basket at 6:31 in the third, Turkey had pulled within one point, 38-37. Leading 45-43, the USA
responded with a 6-0 spurt to help restore a 55-48 lead headed into the final 10 minutes. The fourth quarter opened with a
three-point play from Cash, which gave the USA its first double-digit advantage of the game, and from there the USA continued to push as Turkey finally could not keep up. The USA’s largest run of the game was a 12-0 stretch that began with two points from Jones at 6:45 and ended with a score from Charles at 4:00, and by that time the USA led 72-55. Taurasi gave the USA its biggest
lead of the game, 21 points at 31.9 sec- onds, and Turkey made two free throws down the stretch to bring the game to its 80-61 final. “I think we did some really good
things,” Taurasi said. “Obviously, this was a lot tougher team, and that’s what we are going to face in the Olympics, so I think it was a good test for us. Whenever a team comes out and does a good job and plays well and challenges you, it really shows what kind of resolve we have.”
USA Basketball News
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images
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