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Aug. 31, 2001
Beijing, China – The USA Basketball Women’s World University Games Team (7-1) triumphed overChina (6-2) Friday night for the third time in two weeks to earn the gold medal.After a close first quarter, the USA team held the lead and kept control of the ‘game, eventually sailing in for the 87-69 win. The squad was led by SherekaWright’s (Purdue / Copperas Cove, Texas) 22 points and nine rebounds and 1999World University Games veteran Ayana Walker’s (Louisiana Tech / Houston, Texas)double-double of 19 points and 19 rebounds.
“To finish like this with a national team and to come back the way we didafter losing to Canada and to keep the team focused and actually win infront of 18,000 people in China was just an amazing feat because I thoughtthe China team was a very, very good team,” said USA and University ofVirginia head coach Debbie Ryan. “Having to beat them three times in a rowwas very difficult in two weeks. I was very proud of my players. I think wehad great karma on this team. We had very hard-working players and from topto bottom we were very focused and ready to play and I’m just really proudto be a part of it.”
“I’m just so excited for the team and everyone because we worked so hard,”said team captain Kara Lawson (Tennessee / Alexandria, Va.). “To beat agreat team like China three times is a huge accomplishment. I’m just reallyproud of this team.”
The USA team went on top 5-0 in the first minute of the game. China found theiroffense and tied the game at 7-7 with 5:45 to play in the first periodbefore going on their own 5-0 scoring run to put the score at 12-7. Wrightresponded with six points for the USA while China added two free throws toedge the Americans 14-13 at the 3:20 mark. Walker tallied nine points in theUSA’s next four possessions as the USA women went up 25-21 at the end of thefirst quarter.
China opened the second quarter with four points, closing the USA’s lead to25-24, but that is as close as they would come. Clemson’s Chrissy Floyd(Laurens, S.C.) added two points and then passed off a steal by Caton Hill(Oklahoma / Ada, Okla.) to Chantelle Anderson (Vanderbilt / Vancouver,Wash.) for two more points and a free throw which put the USA team ahead30-24. China stayed in the game by making 14 of 16 free throw attempts inthe first half. The second period ended with the USA again ahead by four,45-41.
In the third quarter, the Americans expanded their lead, going up by as manyas nine points three times, while the fourth quarter saw the USA lead growfrom five to 13 points in less than two minutes. Lawson, Roulier, Walker,Wright and Stanford’s Cori Enghusen (Bothell, Wash.), who blocked fourChinese attempts, continued to step up, combining for all of the team’s 42second half points, securing the USA’s win.
“We knew they (China) would come out hard, wanting to win because they hadalready lost to us twice,” said Floyd. “We came out tough in the beginningand we just stayed strong. I think everybody came out with the right mindsettonight. Everybody wanted it and everybody played hard. It’s a great feelingand I’m happy for everybody here.”
Roulier finished with 15 points while Lawson tallied 13. The USA squad shot50 percent (9-18) from the 3-point line, while outrebounding China 42-32.
“It was so exciting,” said Lindsey Yamasaki (Stanford / Oregon City, Ore.).”I felt this game was by far our best game because everyone contributed,whether it was on the bench or on the floor. We all had our hearts in ittonight and people stepped up and played amazing basketball. I think it wasjust our turn, our night. Coach Ryan said you don’t get many opportunitiesto play for a championship, but this is one and we took advantage.”
The USA and China had played each other twice in the past two weeks with theAmericans winning both games. The first meeting was on Aug. 16 inZhangjiagang, China where the USA women defeated the Chinese 92-89 in thefinal game of the Dong Du Cup. The teams met again on Aug. 28 in thequarterfinal round of the World University Games where the Americans earnedan 89-78 victory.
Ryan is assisted by University of Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder and EastCarolina University (N.C.) head coach Dee Stokes.
With the win, the USA Women have earned 12 medals in 13 appearances,including five golds, six silvers and one bronze medal, and have compiled anoverall record of 74-15 (83.1 winning percentage) since beginning WorldUniversity Games play in 1973.