International Sports Invitational Sports Daily - June 8
USA Women Defeat Russia and Australia Holds Off China In Opening Day Play for Women's Basketball
The women's basketball competition at the 2005 International Sports Invitational tipped off Wednesday in Peterson Gym on the campus of San Diego State University and the USA (1-0) women benefited from 14 points from Courtney Paris (Piedmont H.S. / Piedmont, Calif.) and superior team depth as the U.S. rolled to an 89-69 victory over Russia (0-1) in a game that saw all 15 U.S. players score. In the day's first game, Australia (1-0) held off China (0-1) to claim an 83-70 victory.
The tournament's preliminary round action continues tomorrow with the USA facing Australia at 6 p.m. (all times local) in Cox Arena, while Russia and China meet at 4 p.m. The round-robin play concludes Friday with Australia meeting Russia at 4 p.m. and the USA facing China at 6 p.m.
USA 89, Russia 69
In a game in which it never trailed, the USA Women's U19 World Championship Team flexed its inside muscle, dominated defensively and took advantage of its overall depth as the U.S. handedly defeated Russia 89-69 in opening day action at the International Sports Invitational.
"Overall I was pleased. We're obviously still working on so many things. We played 15 players which is not an easy thing to do, but I thought everybody came in and contributed in some way whether its was hitting a big shot, getting a big rebound or just a defensive stop," said USA head mentor Gail Goestenkors. "I was very pleased with the chemistry we had out on the floor and the way everybody came in and contributed."
Leading 24-17 at the end of the first quarter, the U.S. limited Russia to a single field goal over the second quarter's first 5:30 and posted an 11-2 run to grab control 35-19.
Russia outscored the USA 18-10 over the remainder of the quarter and retired to the locker room at halftime trailing by eight, 45-37.
Scoring the third quarter's final six points, the U.S. took a 69-55 lead into the final 10 minutes, then, with Candice Wiggins (Stanford / Poway, Calif.) scoring four points, the U.S. tallied the first five points of the fourth quarter to march out to a 74-55 advantage and seal the victory.
While the 6-3 Paris recorded a U.S. best 14 points and added seven rebounds, four of those coming on the offensive end, Wiggins made 6-of-8 shots and finished with 13 points, and Erlana Larkins (North Carolina / Riviera Beach, Fla.) sank 12-of-12 free throws to account for her 12 points.
"Candice (Wiggins) is a great leader. She gets us in our sets, makes sure everybody is in the right spot, and her energy defensively is unmatched," said Goestenkors.
The U.S. shot 50.8 percent (32-63 FGs) from the field, while Russia sank 47.8 percent (22-46 FGs) of its shot. Owning a 32-26 advantage on the glass, the U.S. forced Russia into 26 turnovers.
Australia 83, China 70
After watching its 19-point halftime lead dwindled to six in the fourth quarter, Australia fought off a determined China, 83-70, thanks to a late 11-2 run.
Australia built a 24-16 lead after the first quarter as China shot only 23.8 percent in the stanza. The Gems' lead ballooned to 19 points as Rebecca Duke converted on a layup with seconds left in the half to give the Australians their biggest margin of the game, 49-30.
China started the second half with a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 51-42 after Yang Banban hit a 3-pointer with 6:21 left in the third quarter. The Gems regained control and built their lead to 13, 65-52 to end the third.
China continued to chip away and Australia's lead was cut to six points after Zhang Wei hit a basket to put the score at 69-63 with 5:23 remaining. That was as close as China would get. Getting seven points from Renae Camino, Australia went on an 11-2 run in 2:24 to erase all doubts about the game's outcome.
Camino lead Australia with 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while guard Kathleen McLeod, and center Caitlin Cunningham, finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
China featured four players in double figures, led by Wei's 23. Qin posted 14 points and Lu Lu and Guan Xin both finished with 10.
Men's Basketball Recap
USA Blue 118, New Zealand 57
In its 2005 International Sports Invitational debut, the USA Blue (1-0) team wasted no time in showing the rest of the world what it is capable of, defeating the New Zealand Junior Tall Blacks (0-2) by a final score of 118-57 at Cox Arena in San Diego, Calif.
The U.S. used a relentless first-half offensive attack and stifling defense to take a 70-27 halftime advantage, led by O.J. Mayo (North College Hill, H.S. / North College Hill, Ohio) and Thaddeus Young (Mitchell Road H.S. / Memphis, Tenn.), who tallied 20 and 16 points. Mayo finished the game with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting to lead all scorers. Young finished with 16 in just 16 minutes played.
Already ahead by nine points in the first quarter, Young and Mayo exchanged baskets for nine and eight points, respectively, during a four-minute 17-2 run to blow the game open. From that point the U.S. steadily pulled away from New Zealand taking a 28-point advantage after the first quarter (43-15), 43 points (70-27) at half and 57 points (99-42) heading into the final frame.
"I think that our young men were so excited to finally play a real game in their USA uniforms that the team unity that they developed over the last few days showed in their defensive effort and intensity and their playing together," said Blue head coach Ron Crawford (Arkansas AAU Wings). "I thought that was the big difference in the game, defense and playing together."
In addition to Mayo's 25 and Young's 16, four other players scored in double figures for the USA Blue. Wayne Ellington (The Episcopal Academy / Wynnewood, Penn.) added 25 points and Lance Thomas (St. Benedicts H.S. / Scotch Plains, N.J.) chipped in with 15 point, while pulling down six rebounds each. Tory Jackson (Buena Vista H.S. / Saginaw, Mich.) and Dwayne Collins (Miami Senior H.S. / Miami, Fla.) led the team in rebounding with seven each and scored 14 and 10 points, respectively. Jackson also posted a game-high six assists and Robin Lopez (San Joaquin Memorial H.S. / Fresno, Calif.) contributed four blocks to the defensive effort.
Three players scored in double figures for New Zealand, including 17 points from Thomas Abercrombie (Auckland) and 14 from Dion Prewster (Wellington), while Corey Webster (Auckland) added 11. Abercrombie also led all rebounders with nine.
USA White 105, Canada 69
USA White created 25 turnovers and forced Canada into shooting 41.8 percent from the field (23-55 FGs) with pressure defense to defeat the Canada 105-69 in the Americans' second game in preliminary round play.
After going back and forth for the first seven minutes of the game, the North Americans took control after Bill Walker (North College H.S. / Cincinnati, Ohio) hit two straight 3-pointers to put USA White ahead 17-11 with 2:19 left in the quarter.
USA White ran off to a 9-0 run, including five straight points from Kyle Singler (South Medford H.S. / Medford, Ore.), to start the second quarter and pushed its lead to 36-11 with 7:39 remaining in the stanza. Canada, however, came back strong and played USA White even in the frame, 22-22, for a 49-33 halftime score.
The USA continued to build its lead throughout the third and fourth quarters after outscoring Canada by 11 points in the third and nine in the fourth thanks to 10 second half assists.
Harris posted a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the White team. Joining Harris in double figures was Walker with 13 points, Greg Oden (Lawrence North H.S. / Indianapolis, Ind.) with 12, and Darrell Arthur (South Oak Cliff H.S. / Dallas, Texas) and Singler each had 11.
Olu Ashaolou, a 6-6 forward from Toronto, Ontario, paced Canada with 16 points. Junior Cadougan, a 5-11 guard from Toronto, Ontario scored 12 and Robert Sacre, a 6-7 forward from Calgary, Alberta, had 12.
USA Red 107, China 70
Paced by Daequan Cook's (Dunbar H.S. / Dayton, Ohio) 25 points in 23 minutes off the bench, the USA Red Team (2-0) earned a 107-70 victory over China (0-2). It didn't take the USA Red Team members long to establish their dominance over China as it sprinted out to a 16-3 lead before the game was three minutes old.
China got on the board with a jumper at 9:29, but Stanley Robinson (Huffman H.S. / Birmingham, Ala.) nailed a pair of free throws 26 seconds later and China never again led. Showing off his all-around game, Robinson in the opening stanza also had a pair of steals, four rebounds, a 3-pointer, a dunk and a layup for a total of nine of the USA's first 16 points. Robinson's teammates followed his lead and by the end of the first period they held a 36-15 advantage.
At halftime the Red remained fully in control 58-33. With the game put away, the USA Red squad eased up in the third quarter (73-52) and sailed in for the final 107-70 victory.
In addition to Cook's 25 points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter, Robinson finished with 16 and eight rebounds, Gerald Henderson, Jr. (Episcopal Academy / Blue Bell, Pa.) and Damion James (Nacogdoches H.S. / Nacogdoches, Texas) both checked in for 14 points and Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook North H.S. / Northbrook, Ill.) notched 10 points. Bryan Davis (Grand Prairie H.S. / Grand Prairie, Texas) shared high rebounding honors with Robinson, while D.J. Augustin (Brother Martin H.S. / New Orleans, La.) and Jeremiah Rivers (Winter Park H.S. / Winter Park, Fla.) passed off for five and four assists, respectively.
"Yesterday we didn't execute really well and that's a result of having guys miss practice because of (minor) injuries," said USA Red Team head coach Otis Hughley (LeFlore H.S. / Mobile, Ala.). "But today we got better offensively. Our defense got settled and we finally got in a rhythm. Stanley was unbelievable, high energy, he had ups on everybody. His foot is really bothering him, but he's playing through it, no medication, he's trying his best to ignore it. His contributions were unbelievable, I appreciate him being here.
Volleyball Recap
Netherlands def. United States, 3-2
Kay van Dijk scored a match-high 28 points to lead four players in double-figures as the Netherlands defeated the United States, 3-2, in the second match of the men's volleyball competition at the International Sports Invitational on the University of San Diego campus Wednesday night.
Van Dijki had 27 kills and one block in the 25-18, 25-22, 18-25, 20-25, 17-15 victory for the Dutch (1-0) at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Counting the three-match Pacific Northwest Tour last week, it was the fourth match in seven days between the two teams, with each squad winning twice.
Wytze Kooistra scored 16 points on 12 kills and four blocks, Marko Klok had 14 points on 11 kills and three service aces and Jeroen Trommel added 12 points on nine kills, two aces and one block.
Dave McKienzie (Littleton, Colo.) scored 19 points on 16 kills, two blocks and one ace to lead Team USA (0-1 in pool play, 2-2 overall this season). Phil Eatherton (Glencoe, Mo.) added 16 points on nine kills and a match-high seven blocks, while Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) and Jim Polster (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) chipped in with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
China def. Australia, 3-1
Qiong Shen scored 16 points to lead four players in double-figures as China defeated Australia, 3-1, to begin the men's volleyball competition at the International Sports Invitational on the University of San Diego campus Wednesday night.
Shen had 10 kills, three blocks and a match-high three service aces in the 24-26, 25-22, 25-18, 25-15 victory for the Chinese (1-0) at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Zhi Yuan scored 15 points on 13 kills and two blocks, Ming Ma added 13 points on seven kills and six blocks and Xiaodong Cui posted 12 points on eight kills and four blocks in the win.
Daniel Howard scored a match-high 17 points on nine kills and a match-high eight blocks for Australia(0-1), while Benjamin Hardy added nine points on six kills, two blocks and one ace. David Ferguson and Hidde Van Beest each added seven points for the Aussies.
**Reprinted with permission from the United States Olympic Committee
