*****See Box Score from USA Basketball down below*****
USA U18 Women Claim Gold Medal With 104-74 Victory Over Canada
“It was the most exciting game of my life,” Paris Kea (Greensboro Page H.S./ Greensboro, N.C.) said. “We knew their weaknesses and strengths.”
More quotes from Kea
On her overall thoughts of the game:
“I’m personally never satisfied, so I know there are still areas I can work on.”
On what it feels to have her very first USA Basketball gold medal:
It felt great! I was jumping around and everybody was looking at me like, ‘Paris, what are you doing?’ I was like, ‘I’m too excited you guys!’
As a point guard, what did it mean to her to work with coach Dawn Staley?
It was such a great honor. Coach Staley, she knows the position better than anyone, and learning everything I can from her is just amazing.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — With a commanding 104-74 win over Canada (3-2) that saw the USA (5-0) paced by 25 points and 11 rebounds from tournament MVP A’ja Wilson (Heathwood Hall H.S./ Hopkins, S.C.), the 2014 USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team (5-0) captured the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship gold medal on Sunday evening at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The gold medal was the USA U18 women’s seventh-straight and eighth overall, and the USA women are now 48-2 in FIBA Americas U18 Championship play since the event was first held in 1988. The victory also was the USA’s second win over Canada after handing the Canadians a 107-76 loss on Aug. 8 in the preliminary round.
In the bronze medal game, Argentina (3-2) edged out Brazil (2-3) 69-67. The top four tournament finishers, including the USA, Canada, Argentina and Brazil, qualified for the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship in Russia.
“I thought Canada played extremely well,” said USA head coach Dawn Staley (University of South Carolina). “I just thought overall, over a 40-minute period, I thought we kept fresh legs in there and made them play a little bit quicker than they wanted to play. I thought our players just really, on both sides of the ball, executed the game plan.”
Four additional players reached double-digits in a game that saw the USA take control in the first quarter. Napheesa Collier (Incarnate Word Academy/O’Fallon, Mo.) contributed 18 points and six rebounds; Beatrice Mompremier (Miami H.S./Miami, Fla.) finished with 16 points and eight rebounds; Jessica Shepard (Fremont H.S./Fremont, Neb.) added 14 points and seven rebounds; and Brianna Turner (Manvel H.S/Pearland, Texas) added 12 points.
Additionally, Mariya Moore (Salesian H.S./Richmond, Calif.) dished out seven assists, and Wilson with 11 attempted free throws tied the USA U18 single-game record – a mark that was set by Turner on Aug. 8 and also matched by Shepard on Aug. 9.
“This game was special because it was the gold medal game,” Wilson said. “We took care of business and executed everything. Great things started to happen, and things fell into place. It was a great game.”
Canada scored first in the game, and the teams traded baskets through the first five minutes. The scoreboard read 10-8 in the USA’s favor when Canada made a 3-pointer at 5:24, but then the red, white and blue launched its first run of the game, ignited by two made free throws from Moore. That was the start of a 12-0 stretch that put the USA up 22-8 when Moore dished to Turner at 1:30. Each team scored four more points before the first quarter ended to make it 26-12.
Once again Canada started the stanza by matching nearly each U.S. score through the first few minutes, and thanks in part to two made 3-pointers, Canada trailed 34-23 at 6:07. Shepard scored eight points of her own over the next six minutes as the USA outscored Canada 16-9 to close the first half with a 50-32 lead.
The USA’s highest-scoring period of the game was the third, when the Americans put up 29 points to Canada’s 15 and effectively put the game out of reach. The USA’s largest run of the game, a 14-0 spurt, came in the quarter, as well, and it began with an offensive rebound and score from Collier at 6:54 and ended with a basket from Mompremier at 3:28 to make it 71-40. After eight more U.S. points and seven from Canada, the U.S. lead was 32 points, 79-47, headed into the final 10 minutes.
Canada outscored the USA 27-25 in the fourth quarter as the USA coasted to a 104-74 win.
“It was the most exciting game of my life,” Paris Kea (Greensboro Page H.S./ Greensboro, N.C.) said. “We knew their weaknesses and strengths.”
The USA outrebounded Canada 54-25, including 25 offensive boards that helped the USA tally 62 of its points in the paint compared to Canada’s 14.
Box Score >> USA 104, Canada 74
OFFICIAL BASKETBALL BOX SCORE — G A M E T O T A L S
Canada Women’s U18 vs USA Women’s U18
8/10/14 5:30 p.m. at USOTC, Colorado Springs, Colorado
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VISITORS: Canada Women’s U18 (3-2)
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Buttenham, Christina * 5-10 1-4 0-0 2 0 2 2 11 0 2 0 0 20
06 Provo, Daneesha * 4-7 0-1 4-5 0 1 1 3 12 5 1 0 0 26
07 Colley, Shaylisha * 4-13 2-5 6-10 1 2 3 2 16 2 1 0 0 28
11 Carleton, Bridget * 2-9 2-8 1-2 2 1 3 3 7 2 4 0 3 25
15 Fradgley, Rachel * 0-2 0-0 1-2 1 2 3 3 1 1 0 1 0 18
04 Johnson, Barbara 0-2 0-1 2-2 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 7
08 Atkinson, Bridget 2-5 0-0 2-2 0 2 2 1 6 0 1 0 0 12
09 Chandler, Julia 2-2 2-2 2-2 0 1 1 1 8 1 1 0 1 9
10 Gilles, Mael 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 5
12 Harper, Linaea 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 3 3 0 1 0 1 10
13 Creighton, Cheyenne 3-3 1-1 0-2 0 0 0 3 7 0 1 0 0 22
14 Kessler, Nancy 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 18
TEAM …………………………………. 1 2 3 1
TOTALS 23-60 9-24 19-29 8 14 22 25 74 12 16 1 5 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 0-0 00.0% 2ndH: 23-60 38.3% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 38.3% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 0-0 00.0% 2ndH: 9-24 37.5% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 37.5% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 0-0 00.0% 2ndH: 19-29 65.5% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 65.5% 0
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HOME TEAM: USA Women’s U18 (5-0)
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Caldwell, Recee * 1-2 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 2 2 2 4 0 0 14
07 Atkins, Ariel * 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 0 3 3 0 2 16
09 Turner, Brianna * 5-11 0-0 2-4 2 2 4 1 12 0 0 2 0 23
10 Collier, Napheesa * 7-13 2-3 2-2 4 2 6 1 18 3 1 1 1 26
14 Wilson, A’ja * 9-13 0-0 7-11 4 7 11 3 25 0 3 3 2 21
04 Kea, Paris 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 4 6 1 0 0 16
06 Walker, Destinee 2-6 0-4 0-0 0 0 0 3 4 1 1 0 1 15
08 Mabrey, Marina 1-4 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 2 3 0 0 1 14
11 Moore, Mariya 2-3 0-1 3-3 0 1 1 3 7 7 1 0 3 19
12 Mompremier, Beatrice 6-7 0-0 4-9 5 3 8 4 16 0 2 0 2 15
13 Shepard, Jessica 5-7 0-0 4-6 6 1 7 0 14 3 0 0 0 17
15 McCowan, Teaira 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 4
TEAM …………………………………. 2 6 8 2
TOTALS 40-71 2-10 22-35 25 29 54 22 104 28 19 6 12 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 0-0 00.0% 2ndH: 40-71 56.3% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 56.3% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 0-0 00.0% 2ndH: 2-10 20.0% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 20.0% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 0-0 00.0% 2ndH: 22-35 62.9% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 62.9% 0
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OFFICIALS: FERNANDEZ, R (CRC), CUELLO, N (DOM), VAZQUEZ, P (CHI)
TECHNICAL FOULS:
Canada Women’s U18 – none
USA Women’s U18 – none
ATTENDANCE:
SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT1 OT2 TOTAL
Canada Women’s U18 12 20 15 27 74
USA Women’s U18 26 24 29 25 104