USA Preps For FIBA U17 Worlds At Four-Team Tournament In France
Championship gold medalists, the USA took advantage of an opportunity to gain some needed international experience by participating in a four- team tournament in Nogent Sur Seine, France.
P Playing Canada, China and
France, the USA squad compiled a 2-1 mark to finish runner-up for the tournament title and more importantly made considerable progress in its preparations for the FIBA U17 World Championship. Canada (1-2) finished placed third after beating China (0-3) 54-46.
Asia Durr (St. Pius X Catholic H.S./Douglasville, Ga.) and Joyner Holmes (Cedar Hill H.S./Cedar Hill, Texas) were named to the five-mem- ber all-tournament team, while Durr finished among the top four shooters in the tournament’s 3-point contest. USA Basketball veteran Katie
Lou Samuelson (Mater Dei H.S./ Huntington Beach, Calif.) missed all three tournament games because of an illness.
Durr led the USA scoring over the
De’Janae Boykin was a valuable contributor for the USA during the U17 World Championship and its exhibition tour. Boykin averaged 9.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and shot 52.2 percent from the field during the USA’s three exhibition games.
three exhibition games averaging 15.0 ppg. and was credited with 3.0 assists a game, while Holmes added 12.7 ppg. and 6.7 rpg.; Arike Ogunbowale (Divine Savior Holy Angels H.S./ Milwaukee, Wis.) accounted for 12.7 ppg.; and Kristine Anigwe (Desert Vista H.S./ Phoenix, Ariz.) contributed 10.7 ppg. and 5.3 rpg.
USA 89, China 49 In its first game of the tournament,
the USA romped to an 89-49 victory over China on June 20. The USA’s balanced attack saw six
players reach double-figure scoring, with Ogunbowale’s 16 points and four assists leading the way. “I thought we played hard, and for
this group of young ladies to string together forty minutes of intense, focused play was really a testament to their preparation over the past week,” said USA head coach Sue Phillips
72
(Archbishop Mitty H.S./San Jose Cagers AAU, Calif.). Playing in her first international
game, Holmes scored 15 points and grabbed four rebounds; Durr had 13 points; Anigwe finished with 11 points; and De’Janae Boykin (Charles H. Flowers H.S./Springdale, Md.) and Lauren Cox (Flower Mound H.S./Flower Mound, Texas) both scored 10 points and collected four rebounds. Eight U.S. players put points on the
board in the first quarter, and Durr scored six of her 13 in the first period, but China managed to nearly keep pace with the USA, which led 23-17 at the first break. It wasn’t until midway through the
second period that the USA found a bit more breathing room. Leading 34-25, the USA launched an 8-0 run that put the Americans up 42-25 and at halftime the USA’s lead was 46-31. The USA opened the third period
rior to undertaking the challenge of repeating as FIBA U17 World
with a 6-0 run and outscored China 24-10 overall in the third and 19-8 in the fourth quarter to capture the 89-49 win. The USA shot 52.1 percent
from the field (38-73 FGs) and outrebounded China 37-26. “We are getting to know each
other better and what everyone's strengths and weaknesses are, so I think throughout these next couple of days, I think we are just going to get better and better,” said Sabrina Ionescu (Miramonte H.S./Walnut Creek, Calif.), who added four points and six rebounds.
USA 80, Canada 45 Leading by just 10 points heading
into the fourth quarter, the USA outscored Canada 31-6 in the final 10 minutes to run away with an 80-45 win.
The U.S. defense, which limited
Canada to just 26.6 percent shooting from the field and forced 22 Canadian turnovers, allowed only nine points in the third quarter and six points in the final period. The first half, however, ended
with the USA leading by just three points, 33-30. “Some of our success in the second
half had to do with execution, but if you aren't intense, you are not going to be able to execute because the focus isn't there,” said Phillips. “So, we brought up our intensity and our focus, which tight- ened things up defensively, and that truly was the difference in the game.” Holmes was the high scorer and
leading rebounder with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Anigwe finished with 11 points and six rebounds; and Durr and Ogunbowale each added 10 points and four boards. “In the second half, we really raised
our energy level,” Anigwe said. “We had different groups playing together, so we had a lot of fresh legs in the game. I just think we did our part the second half, which we should have done in the first half. We were all on the same page after we had a talk in the locker room.” Additionally, Cox grabbed 10
USA Basketball News
FIBA
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