“Early it was kind of a struggle; in
fact they got ahead of us by three early in the second quarter,” said Schneider. “Diamond really took over on both ends of the floor at the end of the first half. On one sequence, she scored on the offensive end then went down and blocked a shot on the other end. She was absolutely dominant in the last three or four minutes of the first half and that was the game. We were able to extend to a 12-point lead and didn’t look back.” The USA outscored Australia 32-14
in the third quarter, and 30-15 in the final period to arrive at the final score of 103-58. The U.S. shot 58.7 percent (44-75
FGs) for the game, while holding Australia to just 35.1 percent (20-57 FGs) from the field. In addition to DeShields, Russell
and Greenwell each scored 15 points, while Chidom added 12 to round out the Americans’ double-digit scorers. Russell also led the team with six rebounds. Harper dished out a game-high six assists, while Allen recorded five assists. As was the case in the prior day’s
win over Brazil, the USA’s depth proved to be too much for the opposition to handle as 11 of 12 U.S. players scored. “I feel really good about our depth.
We’re getting really good minutes from all our players. Kai James, Oderah Chidom, Brianna Turner, Erica McCall, Kaela Davis all came in and gave us very good minutes,” said Schneider. “Our guards, Linnae and Lindsay,
played really well. I could name every single one of them and think of points in the game when they made plays to help us sustain our momentum. I’m getting better, too, at our sub rotation and knowing when to go with who and getting fresh bodies in the game. I’m pleased with how we are coming along; I wasn’t expecting at all to beat Australia by this score.”
May 31 Brazil Aug. 10 *Brazil
OPPONENT W / L SCORE W 80- 38 W 80- 34
W 86- 60
Providing a spark off the bench, Linnae Harper led the U.S. in assists in both the FIBA U17 World Championship and in the USA’s four exhibition games.
USA 86, Italy 60 The USA allowed Italy to score the
first 14 points of the game, then outscored the hosts 30-12 in the second quarter on the way to an 86-60 victory in the final game of the Italy U17 International Invitational. Italy fed off the energy of the crowd
to throw the game’s first punch, taking a 14-0 lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter. The U.S. closed the period with an 18-5 run of their own to bring the deficit to just 19-18 after the first quarter. “I thought Italy came out pumped up
and ready to go,” said Schneider. “They really came out and shot the ball well in the first four or five minutes. I didn’t think we came out with a lot of defensive energy. We started the game with a couple quick shots and didn’t hit the boards. It didn’t look like we came out with the intensity that we had yesterday.
“We eventually got it rolling and
turned things around. It’s a little disconcerting because you’d like to think with going into the World Championship this week that we were kind of past some of that. Hopefully it was a little bit of a wake-up call for us.” The game turned around for the
United States. in the second period, as the American squad outscored Italy 30-12 in the stanza to take a 48-31 lead into halftime. “It was mostly defensive intensity,”
said Allen of what changed for the U.S. “We really pressured the ball hard. Guards and posts both guarded the ball well, and we were able to get out in our transition break.” The U.S. led 70-43 headed into the
final quarter, where Italy outscored the U.S. 17-16 to reach the final score of 86-60.
Russell scored a game-high 16
points to go with six rebounds, while Reimer added 11 points. DeShields, who was named MVP of the Italy U17 International Invitational, led the U.S. with seven rebounds, in addition to scoring eight points. Eleven U.S. players registered points in the contest. “As I find myself saying over and
over again, our depth is really such a great asset,” said Schneider. “Our starting lineup didn’t come out initially and set the tempo in terms of what we’d like to have. When we had to go to our bench, those players really gave us a boost and generated that energy and provided the catalyst we like to have off the bench. Everyone kind of fed off of that.”
“It helps us learn how to face
adversity,” Allen said of what can be taken away from the USA’s slow start. “Playing against Italy in their home gym and with their home crowd is something we’ll have to get used to in Amsterdam.”
2012 USA Women’s U17 World Championship Team Exhibition Results (4-0) DATE
LEADING SCORER LEADING REBOUNDER DeShields - 15 Reimer - 17
Aug. 11 *Australia W 103- 58 Aug. 12 *Italy
*Italy U17 International Invitational 86 USA Basketball News
DeShields - 27 Russell - 16
Russell - 9 Russell - 7 Russell - 6
DeShields - 7
LEADING ASSISTS Allen / Harper - 4 Harper - 5 Harper - 6
Allen / DeShields / Greenwell - 2
Jenny Maag/USA Basketball
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