Rodez, France----The 2010 USA Women’s U17 World Championship Team put together its most dominating performance of the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship and easily overpowered Japan 133-71 to close out preliminary round play Wednesday. The American team had previously clinched Group A’s number one seed.
The USA featured seven players in double figures.
Breanna Stewart (North Syracuse, N.Y.) led the way with 30 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks. For the third consecutive game, all 12 U.S. players scored.
“We knew we had a size advantage, so the game plan was to go inside as early and as often as we possibly could and establish in the paint, forcing them to defend that to get a little easier shots on the perimeter,” USA U17 and Wingate University head coach
Barbara Nelson says.
“Japan is extremely quick, so we needed to negate their quickness with our size, which was the game plan,” Nelson says. “The girls did a great job. We never talked about the fact we had already qualified. We (the coaches) didn’t think that was important. We thought the game today was what was important.”
The USA’s size advantage was apparent in its 96 points in the paint compared to Japan’s 28. The Americans held 66-27 rebounding advantage as well.
“Our game plan was to get the ball inside, definitely in the first half to let the ball hit the paint before any outside shots went up; I think we executed well,”
Elizabeth Williams (Virginia Beach, Va.) says. Williams finished with 16 points on seven-for-seven shooting from the field, along with eight rebounds and five assists.
For more information, visit the USA Basketball web site:
http://www.usabasketball.com/womens/u17/