Team USA Women 2010 FIBA Worlds-On To The Quarters

Number one FIBA ranked Team USA faced off for the top seed in Group E today against defending FIBA champion Australia in Ostrava with much at stake.

The winner would not only stay unbeaten in this 2010 FIBA world championship tournament, they would clinch Group E and the number one seed heading into the knockout round quarterfinals.

Thanks to a 51-33 first half powered by Diana Taurasi's team high 24 points, Team USA moved to 6-0 and clinched the top spot in Group E by beating the Opals 83-75.

Sylvia Fowles added 15 points to go with her six rebounds and Tina Charles contributed 14 points to help the Team USA cause and extend their record against Australia in FIBA competition to 9-0.

Team USA moves on to Karlovy Vary and their day off needing only three more wins to achieve their ultimate goal of capturing the 2010 FIBA World championship.and that coveted qualifying spot in the 2012 London Games basketball tournament.

After the break Team USA kicks off quarterfinal play October 1 against Korea.  They would take on the winner of the France-Spain game in the semifinal should they defeat Korea.   Meanwhile the Opals face the homestanding Czech Republic and the survivor of the Belarus-Russia quarterfinal..

This may not be the last time we play the Opals, and if things break the way everyone expects, the next time Team USA and Australia clash, the FIBA title could be on the line.

Team USA Women 2010 FIBA Worlds-Belarus Blown Out 107-61

Team USA has had a maddening tendency in this 2010 FIBA Worlds tournament of getting off to slow shooting game starts, then kicking it into high gear and burying their opponents with waves of superior athletes coming off the bench

They flipped that script in today's Group E matchup with Belarus.

Team USA was wide awake and on fire from the opening tipoff.  They shot a blistering 68.3% for the game and 55.6% from three point range as they rolled over Belarus 107-61.   Once again 11 out of the twelve Team USA lady ballers scored with five USA players in double figures.

Team USA jumped out to a 37-11 opening quarter thanks to a 17-0 run triggered by back to back Candace Dupree buckets and a trey from Diana Taurasi.   The lead grew to a 30 point 58-28 bulge by halftime.
The double figure club members for this beatdown were led by Sylvia Fowles 15 points and six rebounds.   Diana Taurasi scored 14 points in just 15 minutes of work,  Candice Dupree with 12 points, and Swin Cash and Maya Moore tossing in 11 points each.   Angel McCoughtry and Lindsay Whalen both had 9 points as they moved to 5-0 in Group play and clinched a spot in the quarterfinals.

Playtime is over for 5-0 Team USA.  They have a showdown with 5-0 Australia tomorrow to see who will emerge as the winner of Group E and take the top seed.

Australia and Team USA have been battling each other for women's basketball supremacy since 1996, and the Opals are tired of living in our large international basketball shadow.   Both have exhibition wins over each other, and this time they will be playing each other with their full international squads.    

You can bet this probably won't be the last confrontation between the FIBA women's basketball superpowers unless one or both get upset in the quarters.

After a day off, the tournament shifts to Karlovy Vary for the knockout round.    The winner of the USA-Australia showdown clinches Group E and gets to start off the Quarterfinal knockout round  playing the 4th place team in Group F.  Loser gets to play the 3rd place team in Group F.

Team USA Women 2010 FIBA Worlds-No, Canada!

 The second round of the FIBA World Championships began in Ostrava and Brno today with Team USA, France and Greece joining Canada, Belarus and defending FIBA Women's champ Australia in Group E to play three more game in three days.    Group F in Brno is comprised of the host Czech Republic, Spain, Russia, Korea, Japan, and Brazil.

Top four teams in Groups E and F move on to the knockout rounds starting October 1 in Karlovy Vary.

Our first game in Group E play today was against our northern neighbors.  The last time they beat us in FIBA play was a 74-68 win in 1975.

They didn't bring their attack beavers with them to the Czech Republic as they got trounced by the FIBA number one ranked USA women 87-46.

The Canadians hung with us, built a six point lead and were only trailing 19-14 at the end of the first quarter thanks to another one of those patented slow starts that have been plaguing this team during this 2010 FIBA worlds.  Team USA tightened up the defense and unleashed a monster 28-11 second quarter on Canada to take control of the game.   A 40-21 second half allowed Team USA to cruise to victory.

Team USA forced 32 turnovers and collected 20 steals that they converted into 38 second chance points and 31 points off of fast break opportunities.

Lindsay Whalen led all USA scorers with 16 points, with Angel McCoughtry adding 11 points and five steals.  Swin Cash scored 10 points, followed by three USA players Sue Bird, Tina Charles and Candice Dupree with nine points each.    Maya Moore dished out a team high four assists to go with her  four rebounds.

"I thought tonight was a great defensive effort," Maya Moore said. "It was really obvious that it was our defense that sparked our offense. I think we had at least five and-ones; that just shows you that we are making improvements, and we are more focused. So, I think it was a step forward tonight."

Next up for the 4-0 American ballers is Belarus before our first showdown with defending  FIBA world champion Australia on Wednesday.

There is one thing we Team USA fans would love to see from our FIBA Number one ranked team.

No more slow starts, please.    

Team USA Women 2010 FIBA Worlds- On To The Second Round

Another day at the FIBA World Championships for Team USA, another slow start.

This time it was because the competition was ratcheted up another level against a determined French team playing for the top seed in Group B.   Team USA eventually woke up, tightened the defense and used its depth and superior talent to prevail over Les Bleues 81-60.

Team USA tri-captain Diana Taurasi was the scoring leader in today's game with 15 points with Tina Charles and Candice Dupree coming off that deep bench to score 10 points apiece.   Maya Moore came close to positing a double-double with 9 points and 8 rebounds.  Angel McCoughtry chipped in 9 points and Sue Bird had 9 on perfect 4 for 4 shooting to help move this team to a 3-0 record and clinch the top seed in Group B.

“I thought the first half, the first 10 minutes especially, were difficult for both teams to make any shots,” said USA head coach Geno Auriemma. “Usually when you play pretty good defense and hold the other team to three or four or five points, you would think that you would come down and get maybe 10, 12, 14, but it was difficult for both teams in that first 10 minutes. As we settled into a rhythm we played really well. Our defense was much better in the second half. Our second group that came in did a great job in the third quarter. We have a young team, but we have some talented players and we have depth. I think that helped us again tonight.”

To illustrate how tough it was, Team USA had a slim 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter before extending that lead to a 35-29 bulge at the halftime break.

A 25-19 third quarter built that halftime lead to a 61-48 lead by the end of it.    It also didn't hurt that the Americans had a 41-25 rebounding edge and for the third straight game had great shooting.   They shot 55.6% for the game and a scorching 42.7% from 3 pt range while forcing 15 French turnovers they converted into 20 points..    


FIBA Number one ranked Team USA will have a day off  in Ostrava before the second round  basketball action starts.   They start by taking on Canada Monday, Belarus on Tuesday and their longtime basketball rivals and defending FIBA women's champ Australia on Wednesday.