However, following a jumper by
Spain, the USA sent the hosts to the line for six tries in less than two minutes and the Europeans closed the gap to 34-22 at 5:39. That was as close as Spain would
get for the remainder of the contest. Holding onto a 15-point, 45-30, advan- tage, the Americans got a long two from Kelsey Plum (La Jolla Country Day/Poway, Calif.) at the buzzer and headed to the locker room up 47-30. Ahead 49-34 in the third quarter, the
U.S. posted another 11-2 run to go up 61-36 and dash and any comeback hopes Spain might have been harboring. By the end of the third, the score stood at 63-38.
The Americans continued to increase
their lead, going up by as many as 30 points, 77-47, before closing with the 78-49 win. Points were spread around and in
addition to the contribution from Harper and Graves, the Americans received nine points and five boards from Alexis Jones (Duke/Irving, Texas), eight points apiece from Stewart and Wilson, Brianna Turner (Manvel H.S./Pearland, Texas) added seven points and pulled down a game- best nine caroms, while Candice Agee (Penn State/Victorville, Calif.) pitched in six points and five boards. Shooting 49.2 percent from the
field, the USA’s defense limited Spain to a frigid 27.9 percent overall. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc as Spain hit for 13.3 percent and the U.S. just 7.7 percent (1-13 3pt FGs). The United States dominated on the glass 49-29.
USA 69, Canada 49 Behind its intense pressure defense,
the USA sprinted to a 28-7 lead en route to a 69-49 defeat of Canada to capture the 2013 Lanzarote International Invitational championship. Stewart led the way with 11 points,
6:47 to play before half, the game was well in hand, 28-7. Utilizing a variety of scoring options
that saw Stewart score five of her nine first half points in the run, the U.S. got points from six different players during that time.
Canada outscored the U.S. 15-8 over
the remainder of the second quarter and at halftime the USA’s advantage was 14 points, 36-22, with 10 of the 11 healthy players contributing to the scoring column. “It’s really hard to ever think you
can put a team away, especially a team of this caliber,” added Meier. “Canada played with a lot of pride, responded and made some adjustments. We sort of lost our focus, so it was kind of a combina- tion of things.” The USA’s lead was cut to 12,
Kelsey Plum, who tied for third on the team in made 3-pointers, collected her first USA Basketball gold medal as a member of the USA U19 World Championship Team.
while Tuck scored 10 and Turner also had 10 points to go with seven rebounds. “The start of the game, our first
quarter was just phenomenal, especially after that short (13-hour) turnaround,” said Meier. “It really showed maturity in our starters. But, our pressure wasn’t consistent throughout the game. It came and went. We kind of pressured in spurts. We weren’t as sharp mentally as we needed to be, but I was really happy to see the veterans set the tone early in this game.”
Striking first and jumping out to a
9-2 lead, the U.S. never trailed and with the score showing 11-6, the red, white and blue went on a game-deciding run. Feeding off of its pressure defense,
the USA capped the first quarter by scoring nine unanswered points in a 17-2 run that bridged the quarter gap and with
41-29, in the second half’s first 1:23, however, a 9-0 spurt distanced the USA from their neighbors to the north to a tune of 50-29. Canada scored the period’s final four points to bring the third quarter to a 50-33 close. The fourth quarter saw the U.S.
outscore Canada 19-16 for the final. “Our defense is definitely a strength
and when we play teams with our pressure defense, it’s really hard for other teams to score on us,” said Coffey, who contributed four points in the win. “I think we did a really good job of playing together.” In addition to the double-digit
scorers, Graves and Jones had eight points apiece, with Graves also grabbed seven boards, and Wilson chipped in six points to go with her team-high eight rebounds. Harper, who posted four points and three assists, secured seven caroms. Neither team shot particularly well,
with the USA hitting 34.2 percent and Canada 31.1 percent overall. The U.S. posted a 51-29 rebounding margin, but committed 20 turnovers, while forcing Canada into 23.
DATE
July 12 Australia W 71- 66 Tuck - 17 July 13 Spain July 14 Canada
W 69- 49
*2013 USA Women’s U19 World Championship Team Exhibition Results (3-0) OPPONENT W / L SCORE W 78- 49
LEADING SCORER LEADING REBOUNDER Stewart - 10 Turner - 9 Wilson - 8
Harper - 15 Stewart - 11
*2013 Lanzarote International Invitational, Lanzarote, Canary Islands 60 USA Basketball News
LEADING ASSISTS Jefferson 4
Harper / Jefferson - 3 Harper - 3
Caroline Williams/USA Basketball
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