International Sports Invitational Sports Daily - June 11
USA Sweeps Medals as White Takes Gold, Blue Earns Silver And Red Collects Bronze In Final International Sports Invitational Action
The USA White team captured gold at the 2005 International Sports Invitational, defeating USA Blue by a 107-85 final, despite a game-high 31 points by Blue's O.J. Mayo (North College Hill H.S. / North College Hill, Ohio).
USA White was able to pull away in the second half, outscoring Blue 31-19 in the fourth quarter as foul trouble kept Blue big men, Robin Lopez (San Joaquin Memorial H.S./Fresno, Calif.), Mike Washington (Heritage Christian Academy (Texas)/McGehee, Ark.) and Dwayne Collins (Miami Senior H.S./Miami, Fla.) on the bench for much of the second half.
The two teams battled back and forth in the first quarter and the game was tied at 23 with 23 seconds left, after Mayo scored 15 out of 16 straight points for the USA Blue team. Two free throws by Bryce Webster (St. Thomas Academy/St. Paul, Minn.) gave the White squad a slim 25-23 lead after one.
White pulled ahead by six points, 40-34 with 5:33 left in the half, before Blue began a 7-2 run capped by a Mayo jumper at the 4:03 mark to cut the lead to one, 42-41. But, a cut above his right eye with just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter forced Mayo to head into the locker room early. USA White capitalized, outscoring Blue 15-5 over the remainder of the quarter to take a 58-46 lead at halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, the Blue squad inched closer, 76-66, after the third quarter. However, the fourth quarter belonged to USA White. With an 11-point cushion, 82-71 with 7:44 left in the game, White began a 15-3 run, that included five dunks by four different players and gave them a 97-74 lead, sealing the victory with 4:09 left in the game. From that point the teams exchanged buckets, and USA White walked away with a 107-85 victory.
"It was really exciting," said White head coach Pat Fitterer (Eisenhower H.S./Seattle, Wash.). I'm most excited because we had 29 assists tonight, that was awesome. This is the most unselfish crew I've ever had. Greg Oden thanked everybody for letting him be a part of the team and everybody else was just awesome, they had a great team concept. I told them now I want them to go out and win a couple more gold medals for USA."
Three players scored in double figures for USA White, including 28 points (11-22 FGs) from Paul Harris (Niagara Falls H.S./Niagara Falls, N.Y.). Center Greg Oden (Lawrence North H.S. / Indianapolis, Ind.) and forward Bill Walker (North College Hill H.S. / Cincinnati, Ohio), aided by the foul trouble of the Blue squad, chipped in 21 and 18, respectively, and Oden pulled down 11 rebounds. Five players also dished out at least five assists. Oden also broke the USA Youth Development Festival record for field-goal percentage, shooting 74.4 percent (32-43 FGs) in the tournament.
Mayo and Wayne Ellington (The Episcopal Academy/Wynnewood, Penn.) shouldered the load for USA Blue. In addition to 31 points (11-24 FGs), Mayo also tallied six rebounds and seven steals. Ellington finished the game with 27 points (11-23 FGs) and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Bronze Medal Game - USA Red 92, Russia 77
Daequan Cook (Dunbar H.S. / Dayton, Ohio) scored a game-high 28 points to lead the USA Red Team to the bronze medal after a strong second half performance put away a resilient Russian team 92-77. The win secured an American medal sweep in the Festival.
"Our guys really took it personally not to lose that game," said USA Red head coach Otis Hughley (LeFlore H.S. / Moblile, Ala.). "It is as it should be: first, second and third USA teams. We didn't shoot for third, but it is as it should be. It didn't matter which three, but as long as we took the first three spots."
The Americans stormed out to a 17-2 lead in the opening 4:45 on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor to take command early. A basket by Maxim Sheleketo ignited a 15-2 Russian run to knot the score at 17-17 at the end of the first quarter.
Artur Urazmanov opened the scoring 35 seconds into the second quarter to give Russia its first lead of the game, 19-17. With Russia atop 23-22 at 7:18, Cook scored eight points over a 2:59 span and Bryan Davis (Grand Prairie H.S. / Grand Prairie, Texas) added a dunk to cap an 18-6 Red Team run that put the Americans ahead 40-29. Two free throws from Sheleketo brought the Russians back within seven at 42-35, but Damion James (Nacogdoches H.S. / Nacogdoches, Texas) scored a second-chance basket with 57 seconds left in the half to send USA Red into the break with a 44-35 advantage.
The Red Team continued to pull away from Russia in the second half thanks to a 10-0 run over 1:33 that put the Americans ahead by a 17-point margin, 60-43. USA Red traded baskets with Igor Smyghin, who scored 10 straight Russian points on two 3-pointers and two layups, as the lead remained a comfortable 15 points, 68-53. The lead was cut to 12 at 69-57 after Pavel Sergeev hit a jumper with 44.7 seconds remaining in the third frame but Jeremiah Rivers (Winter Park H.S. / Winter Park, Fla.) responded with a jumper at the buzzer to put the Americans on top 71-57 to begin the final quarter.
In the fourth, Cook scored six straight American points, including a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, to increase USA Red's lead to 81-62 with 6:59 left and secure the team's bronze medal.
Cook paced the Americans with 28 points and eight rebounds. Gerald Henderson, Jr. (Episcopal Academy / Blue Bell, Pa.) scored 18 on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the foul line and Brook Lopez (San Joaquin Memorial H.S. / Fresno, Calif.) had 13.
Smyghin led Russia with 14 points. Sheleketo posted 13 Petr Gubanov finished with 11.
Fifth-Place Game - New Zealand 52, Canada 50
New Zealand's Benny Anthony, Jr. partially blocked a game-tying jumper by Scott Brittain as time expired to ensure New Zealand's fifth-place finish with a 52-50 victory.
Trailing by 10 points with 9:45 left in the game, Canada knocked down two straight 3-pointers and Junior Cadougan hit a running jumper at the 7:10 mark to cut New Zealand's lead to down to four. Corey Webster then found Brittain for a 3-pointer with 4:42 left in the game to pull the Canadians within one, 49-48.
New Zealand's Olu Ashaolou responded with a jumper at the 2:50 mark to push the Kiwis lead back to three at 51-48. Canada pulled back within one, 51-50, when Cadougan hit a streaking Jonathon House for a layup with 22.2 on the clock after Ashaolou grabbed a defensive rebound.
New Zealand ran 12.7 seconds off the clock before Canada put Webster on the free throw line. After Webster hit 1-of-2 and New Zealand's Jeremiah Trueman committed a foul, Canada inbounded the ball with two seconds remaining. Brittain released his shot as time expired but Anthony was there for the block.
Canada started the game by running to a 17-6 lead after a dunk by Ashaolou with 1:05 left in the first quarter. Five straight points by New Zealand over the next 25 seconds pulled the Kiwis within six at 17-11 to close the frame.
Alex Pledger scored five points in a 7-0 New Zealand run to start the second as the New Zealanders took their first lead of the game, 18-17 with 7:20 remaining in the half. Both squads traded baskets for the remainder of the second to enter the break knotted at 26-26.
A jumper from Ashaolou 57 seconds into the third quarter sparked a 9-2 New Zealand run over the next 3:57 that gave the Kiwis a 35-28 advantage. New Zealand held its seven-point margin entering the final frame owning a 41-34 lead.
Neither team shot well, as Canada topped New Zealand 30.6 percent (11-36) to 26.3 percent (20-70) from the field.
Webster scored a team-high 19 points and narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds to lead New Zealand. Anthony posted nine points and eight rebounds.
Scott Brittain led three Canadians in double figures with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Cadougan posted 13 points and a game-high six assists and Robert Sacre had 10 points and nine boards.
USA Golden After Upending Russia 73-57 (Women's Basketball)
Behind the inside dominance of Courtney Paris' (Piedmont H.S. / Piedmont, Calif.) 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Crystal Langhorne's (Maryland / Willingboro, N.J.) 14 points and eight boards, the USA (4-0) women earned gold with a 73-57 win over Russia (2-2) at the 2005 International Sports Invitational Saturday evening at San Diego State's Cox Arena.
The 2005 International Sports Invitational was the opening training for the 15 finalists for the 2005 USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team. Following a two week break after finishing the International Sports Invitational, the U.S. will regroup in Colorado Springs, Colo., for a June 28-July 2 training camp, then train July 3-6 in Washington, D.C. Following five additional days (July 7-11) of training and two exhibition games against Hungary's U19 Team in Budapest, Hungary, the 2005 USA U19 Team will travel to Tunis, Tunisia, for the July 15-24 FIBA U19 World Championship Tournament.
"I'm pleased about winning the gold medal here, but we have so many things to work on. This has been a great experience for us because it has shown us some of our strengths and also some of our weaknesses. I'm excited about the opportunity to go back and break things down and build a championship team," USA head coach Gail Goestenkors added.
As had been the case in the USA three earlier wins, it was its inside dominance and scrappy defense that fueled the USA to victory over Russia in the gold medal game.
Tied 10-10, three different U.S. players scored in a 7-0 run by the U.S. that saw the American jump to a 17-10 advantage with 2:21 left in quarter one. From there, Russia never again got closer than five points.
Taking a 22-15 lead into the second quarter, Russia lagged behind by five, 29-24, with 2:41 left before half, but Paris scored on back-to-back possessions in a mini 5-0 USA run that lifted the Americas ahead 34-24.
Taking a 34-28 lead into the third quarter, the U.S. held Russia to just 10 points in the third to take command 56-38. The USA outscored Russia 22-10 in the third quarter and defensively frustrated Russia into 2-for-18 shooting for the quarter.
Russia rallied one last time. Mounting a 9-1 run, Russia cut the U.S. lead to 10, 57-47, after Natalia Bogdanova hit a jumper with 7:32 to play. Essence Carson (Rutgers / Paterson, N.J.) made one of two free throws, then Paris converted on a fastbreak to push the red, white and blue's lead to 60-47. Russia's Elena Reshetko scored to make it 60-49, but the Americans reeled of eight straight points as Langhorne, Paris, Candice Wiggins (Stanford / Poway, Calif.) and Erlana Larkins (North Carolina / Riviera Beach, Fla.) scored consecutive baskets as the U.S. grabbed control 68-49 to break Russia's back.
The U.S. dominated on the glass, grabbing 51 rebounds, including 24 offensive boards. The U.S. contingent shot just 38.6 percent from the floor, but Russia faired even worse, managing to make just 30.0 percent of its shots.
Bronze Medal Game - Australia 83, China 61
Up by just four points over China, 48-44 midway through the third quarter, Australia used a 12-6 run over the remainder of the quarter to pull away. Outscoring China 23-11 in the fourth quarter, Australia captured the bronze at the 2005 International Sports Invitational with an 83-61 victory.
China, which never substituted for its starting five, converted on just two field goals in the game's final five minutes and Australia was able to capitalize and put the game away, outscoring China 16-5 over that stretch.
Once again, guard Kathleen MacLeod paced all scorers with 21 points (7-13 FGs), while forward Michaela Dombkins added 20 of her own on 8-for-13 shooting from the floor. Guard Renae Camino and forward Rebecca Duke poured in 14 and 13, respectively, for Australia and forward Abby Bishop recorded a game-high 11 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass to help Australia clinch the game.
China's Guan Xin scored 19 points to lead her team, followed by Wang Baiyu with 12. Zhang Wei and Wang Qin were also in double figures for China with 11 points each. Qin also pulled down nine rebounds for the Chinese.
USA Moves Into Gold Medal Game With Win Over Australia (Softball)
For the second consecutive game, the USA Softball Women's National Team ended its contest with Australia early due to the run rule. The 8-1 five-inning win places the USA in the grand final at 3 p.m. (PST) on Sunday against the winner of the Canada/Australia 12 p.m. game.
Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) remained hot at the plate lacing a double to left center to get the offense jump started in the first inning. Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) followed with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With two runners in scoring position, Jenny Topping (Whittier, Calif.) ripped a single up the middle to give the USA a 2-0 lead.
The U.S. matched its first inning offensive output in the second by scoring two more runs to increase its lead to 4-0. Jaime Clark (Tustin, Calif.) singled up the middle and moved to third on a double by Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.). Shortstop Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) plated both runners with a single up the middle.
"I am very proud of this team and their performance so far," said head coach Mike Candrea. "This team is full of competitors. Give them a uniform and an opponent and they will play ball. They don't need motivation. They were excited to get things rolling again and with a big tournament like this they were overly anxious to take the field."
Australia slugger Stacey Porter put her team on the board in the top of the fourth with a solo home run to centerfield. It was her third of the tournament and increases her RBI total to five.
Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) responded to the Aussie run with a bunt single that scored Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) who led off the inning with a walk.
With a lead of 5-1 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, the USA bats exploded for three runs on five hits to end the game due to the run rule. Topping led off the inning with a solo home run to centerfield. Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) followed with a single and advanced to third when Flowers doubled to left center. A sacrifice fly by Clark plated Jung while an infield single by Berg scored Flowers to end the game.
Galindo, who is hitting .835 in four games, went 3-for-3 to lead the offensive charge for the U.S. Topping and Berg also collected two hits in the game.
"Galindo is a very exciting player," added Candrea. "She swings the bat so well and I was most impressed by her slide at home plate to avoid the double play. She just loves to play the game and always comes to play with a smile on her face."
Semifinal 1 - Canada 3, China 0
After going winless in the round-robin portion of the International Sports Invitational, Canada shutout China 3-0 in the opening round of the playoffs to advance to the bronze medal game.
Canada entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed after falling to China 6-1 earlier in the day. With the game scoreless after four innings, Canada capitalized on a couple of China miscues in the fifth to bust open the game.
A lead-off single by Erin Cumpstone got things started for Canada. Cindy Eadie then reached on an error by the leftfielder to put runners on first and second. After a walk to Rachel Schill that loaded the bases, a wild pitch allowed the first run to score. Sheena Lawrick drove in two more runs with a single up the middle that extended the lead to 3-0.
Kaila Holtz got her first win of the event allowing only two hits while striking out seven. Lu Wei dropped to 1-2 after allowing three earned runs.
With the loss, China finishes fourth and is eliminated from competition. Canada moves on to face Australia in the bronze medal game. The loser of that game will capture bronze while the winner advances to the gold medal game to face the USA.
USA 7, Australia 0 (11 a.m. game)
The USA Women's National Team shined in its much anticipated rematch with Olympic silver medalist Australia. The U.S. needed only five innings to dispose of the Aussies, 7-0.
Jamie Southern (Clovis, Calif.) was dominant in the circle for the Red, White and Blue allowing only two hits while striking out two. Leigh Ann Ellis (Barboursville, W. Va.) pitched a perfect inning of relief to close out the game.
The U.S. used a two-out rally that included three walks to take a 2-0 lead over Australia. Amanda Freed (Cypress, Calif.) and Jamie Clark (Tustin, Calif.) both drew walks to get the rally started. Freed scored on a throwing error by the pitcher while Clark scored on a passed ball take the early lead.
Demonstrating its power, Team USA added five runs in the third inning thanks to three home runs to deep centerfield. A lead off dinger from Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.), her second of the tournament, got the offense rolling. An infield base hit from Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.) coupled with a walk to Jenny Topping (Whittier, Calif.) put two on the bags for Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) who launched a blast to deep center field to increase the lead to 6-0. Catcher Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) added the seventh run with the third home run of the inning.
Justine Smethurst was saddled with the loss after allowing four runs on six hits.
China 6, Canada 1 (9 a.m. game)
The Chinese National Team captured its first victory of the International Sports Invitational with a decisive 6-1 win over Canada early Saturday morning. The Chinese team collecting eight hits in the contest including a solo home run from Xin Minhong.
Producing a 4-0 lead in the second inning, China took charge with a Jiang Xin single up the middle. Back-to-back sacrifice bunts advanced Jiang Xin before an RBI single from Sun Li put the first run aboard. Another RBI single followed by a Canadian fielding error allowed two runs to score pushing China on top with a comfortable 4-0 lead.
Canada looked to muster a rally in the fifth with an RBI triple to centerfield from Rachel Schill, but failed to move runners leaving seven runners left on base in the contest.
China added another run in the fifth thanks to a solo home run from Xin Minhong before a groundout RBI in the sixth would tally the final 6-1 Chinese victory.
Winning pitcher Lu Wei moved to 1-1 completing three innings allowing one hit and four strikeouts. Xin Minhong and Sun Li both contributed 2-for-3 outings.
U.S. Defeats China, Set to Play Familiar Dutch Team for Gold
The USA Men's National Volleyball Team and the Netherlands will meet for the fifth time in 11 days Sunday night, but for the first time with a championship on the line.
Dave McKienzie scored a team-high 14 points to lead four players in double-figures as the USA Men swept China Saturday night to advance to the championship match of the men's volleyball competition at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
McKienzie (Littleton, Colo.) blasted 12 kills, one service ace and one block in the 25-21, 25-22, 25-19 victory to set up yet another meeting between the two teams.
Team USA hosted Holland for three friendly matches on a Pacific Northwest Tour in Spokane, Wash. (June 2), Boise, Idaho (June 3) and Portland, Ore. (June 5) before the two teams met again in pool play on June 8 to kick off the International Sports Invitational.
The Americans sandwiched a pair of 3-0 wins over the Dutch around a four-set loss in Boise on June 3. The Netherlands, who advanced to Sunday's championship match by edging Australia in five sets, also defeated the United States in the pool play match last Wednesday, 3-2.
"We get to play Holland again tomorrow night, and I think we are two very evenly matched teams," said Team USA head coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand). "The first match of the tournament for us was a very tight five-gamer, and I think it will be another great match tomorrow." "For us it doesn't matter if it's the fifth time or the tenth time," adds USA setter and team captain Donald Suxho (Korce, Albania). "What we showed tonight is that we're beginning to jell together. We are playing together as a team, we are beginning to understand each other and we're bringing our level up a little more. As each day goes by we're playing better and better, and that's important for us."
Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) scored 12 points on 10 kills and two blocks in Saturday night's semifinal win for Team USA, which is now 5-2 on the season. Jim Polster (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Phil Eatherton (Glencoe, Mo.) added 11 points apiece for the Americans.
Polster had 10 kills and one block, while Eatherton posted six kills, a match-high four blocks and the match-winning service ace in the third set.
Shen Qiong scored a match-high 17 points on 15 kills, one block and one ace to lead China, which will not play Australia for third place in a 6 p.m. match on Sunday.
Semifinal #1 - Netherlands def. Australia, 3-2
Kay van Dijk scored a match-high 18 points, including six in the fifth and deciding set, as the Netherlands edged Australia, 3-2, Saturday night to advance to the championship match of the men's volleyball competition.
Van Dijk ripped 17 kills along with one block in the 25-21, 17-25, 27-25, 18-25, 16-14 thriller.
Wytze Kooistra added 12 points, Rob Bontje scored 11 and Jeroen Trommel registered 10 as the Dutch improved to 4-0 at the tournament.
Kooistra had nine kills and three blocks, Bontje posted seven kills, two blocks and two service aces and Trommel had eight kills and two aces.
Benjamin Hardy and Hidde Van Beest tallied 23 points apiece for the Aussies, who played their best match of the tournament but still remain winless at 0-4. Hardy had 22 kills and one block, while Van Beest posted 19 kills, two blocks and two aces.
Andrew Earl added 18 points on 17 kills and one ace, while David Ferguson (13 points) and Daniel Howard (10 points) also posted double-figures for Australia.
**Reprinted with permission from the United States Olympic Committee
