USA U19 Women Claim Lanzarote International Invitational Title
USA U19 World Championship Team got its first taste of international com- petition when it participated in and won the 2013 Lanzarote International Invitational in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. A four-team, round-robin tourna-
F
ment, the U.S. captured three wins in as many days to claim the tournament championship. The USA opened with a come-
from-behind 71-66 win over Australia, then downed host Spain 78-49, and concluded the tournament with a 69-49 decision over Canada. “It was good,” said USA and
University of Miami head coach Katie Meier about her team getting an opportunity to play the three games. “Just about everything that we needed to have happen in this tournament, happened. We lost a significant lead, Canada whittled it down to 12 there. Yesterday we got into foul trouble. These are game situations you just can’t get in training camp. You need to get it out and play in live competi- tion.”
USA 71, Australia 66 Led by 17 points from USA
Basketball veteran Morgan Tuck (Connecticut/Bolingbrook, Ill.), the USA got things off to an impressive start earning a 71-66 victory over a tough Australian U19 squad. Tuck scored 15 of her team-high 17
points in the second half, including a steal and layup with 7:23 remaining in the game that pushed the Americans in front for good. Also scoring in double digits for the U.S. were Breanna Stewart (Connecticut/North Syracuse, N.Y.), who notched the game’s only double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Linnae Harper (Whitney Young H.S./Chicago, Ill.) and USA Basketball newcomer A’ja Wilson (Heathwood Hall H.S./Hopkins, S.C.) chipped in 11 points apiece. Wilson added nine caroms. “To get out of the gates with that
type of game and that kind of competi- tion was just amazing for us,” said
USA Basketball News
ollowing a week-long train- ing camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., the 2013
final stanza for the eventual victory. After shooting just 31.0 per-
cent in the first half, the Americans upped their percentage for the game to 39.5 percent, while Australia shot 42.2 percent for the night. The U.S. outrebounded Australia 42-32, including 17-9 on the offensive glass, but coughed up the ball 16
times as compared to just 11 for Australia.
USA 78, Spain 49 Leading from wire-to-wire, the
U.S. throttled host Spain 78-49. Seven U.S. players chipped in no less than six points apiece, led by Harper and Bashaara Graves (Tennessee/ Clarksville, Tenn.), who notched 15 and 10 points, respectively. “I thought that was a great
Starting guard Moriah Jefferson led the USA in assists during the Lanzarote International Invitational averag- ing 3.0 a game, and added 3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds a game.
Meier. “That just made us better; we just became a lot better team through the course of one game. It tested our grit to see if we would respond to being down and if we’re going to win a game with our defense. We were losing because of our defense and then we won it because of our defense. We knew the game hinged on that and I thought the kids really battled with pride.” Australia led 33-29 at halftime and
at the 6:23 mark in the third quarter, held its largest lead of the night, 40-33. Tuck, who scored 11 of the USA’s
first 13 points of the second half, contin- ued to help the Americans battle back and her lone 3-pointer of the game at 3:33 pulled the USA to 44-42. Trailing 49-45 at the third-quarter
buzzer the USA set its defensive pressure loose on Australia and produced five of the team’s seven steals on the night. The defensive effort ignited its offense as the USA outscored the Aussies 26-17 in the
response by our team to understand the level of effort that we have to give every night,” said Meier. “Spain had our attention; they had our full atten- tion. We expected a real emotional, passionate performance by them and they started out that way. It was a great response by our team.” The USA jumped out to an early
lead it never relinquished. Graves got the U.S. on the board 17 seconds into
the game and by the 6:21 mark, with three more Americans contributing points, the USA was up 10-2. However, the USA had a tough time
adjusting to the international style of play and at 5:08 was whistled for its fifth team foul. Being in the bonus resulted in the host nation hitting 9-of-10 free throws in the second half of the opening stanza to keep the game within single digits and at the end of the period the USA led by nine, 23-14. Nia Coffey (Hopkins H.S./
Minneapolis, Minn.) got a quick and-one to start the second quarter. That sparked an 11-2 run that again saw four different players put up points, while the U.S. also got back-to-back steals by Harper and Moriah Jefferson (Connecticut/Glenn Heights, Texas). By 7:46 the USA’s lead had stretched to 34-16, and it looked as if the team was ready to pull away for good.
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Caroline Williams/USA Basketball
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