BRNO, Czech Republic (July 16, 2001) -- Behind 23 points and six steals from Alana Beard (Duke / Shreveport, La.), the USA Basketball Women's Junior World Championship Team (3-0) survived a fourth quarter comeback attempt by Brazil (2-1) and finished with an 83-71 victory today in Brno, Czech Republic. Improving its record to 3-0 at the 2001 FIBA Junior World Championship, following a day off the United States will continue preliminary round action against Mali (0-2) on July 18 and is scheduled to close out opening round play against Russia (2-0) on July 19. In other Group B action, Lithuania will play Mali at 11:00 a.m. (all times local) and China faces Russia at 8:00 p.m. this evening.

"We had tremendous ball movement on offense in the third quarter," said USA and University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma. "We got our break going, we got the ball moving and we didn't do that in the first half. In the first half we were standing around offensively and it became more of a one-on-one game. What I liked about the third quarter was that we really pushed the ball and attacked it and got them back on their heels. We caught them by surprise by how aggressive we played after the break."

"We played a pretty good defensive game," said Beard. "It could have been better. We got out a little slow and tried to get over the hump. We struggled in the first half, but we came out in the second half and turned up the heat. We just have to stay focused and play 40 minutes of good basketball, not just 20 or 30 minutes. The fourth quarter showed how much more work we need to get done. But we're moving in the right direction and I'm proud of the team."

The first quarter was an even battle with six lead changes and one tied score and with 1:33 showing on the clock, Brazil held a slim 20-19 edge. A Nicole Powell (Stanford / Phoenix, Ariz.) jumper with 1:23 to go in the first gave the USA the lead for good, 21-20. The North Americans then closed the period with an Ann Strother (Highlands Ranch H.S. / Castle Rock, Colo.) 3-point play and two free throws by Rutgers University (N.J.) freshman-to-be Cappie Pondexter (John Marshall H.S./ Chicago, Ill.), while Brazil made one of two from the line and the quarter closed with the USA holding a 26-21 lead. The United States pushed its lead to 10 points, 31-21, with 9:02 to go in the half. However, neither team was able to get its offense going and over the next five minutes, combined for 11 points and with 4:00 left in the half the score stood at 37-26. By halftime the USA was back up by 10 points, 41-31.

The red, white and blue used the third quarter to outscore Brazil 30-12 and pulled away 71-43. While the United State's defense held Brazil to a lone field goal and a pair of free throws in the first five minutes of the third quarter, its offense exploded for 18 points, half of which came from a hat trick behind the arc by Diana Taurasi (Connecticut / Chino, Calif.), and at 5:13 the U.S. had bolted to a 59-35 advantage. By the time the third quarter buzzer sounded the United States held what would become an insurmountable 28-point, 71-43, lead. In the third, the United States shot 57.9 percent (11-19 FGs) from the field and a sizzling 55.6 percent (5-9 3pt FGs) from 3-point, while holding Brazil to 25.0 percent (4-16 FGs) from the floor.

"We knew we were having trouble defending their layups," commented Taurasi on the difference between the first half and the third quarter. "There was no weak side help and they were getting a lot of second shots. Coach told us to tighten up on the ball pressure and have a lot of help on the weak side. We did that, we rebounded and we ran. We opened it up pretty big in the third quarter."

Despite only committing three turnovers in the fourth period, the United States was held to 33.3 percent (5-15 FGs) on its shooting from the field, while Brazil nailed 72.7 percent (8-11 FGs) of its fourth quarter shots. The period opened with both teams trading baskets and at 7:04 the score stood at 75-48. Brazil then outscored the USA 12-6 to cut the deficit to 19 points, 81-60, with 2:59 remaining in the contest. Stacy Stephens (Texas / Winnsboro, Texas) grabbed an offensive rebound and made her follow-up jumper to give the United States its final points of the game with 2:20 to go and the U.S. was up 83-60. Fifteen seconds later Brazil's Silvia Rocha was fouled and made good on a 3-point play. Brazil then forced two U.S. turnovers and converted on a pair of threes within the next minute to close to 83-69 with 1:05 remaining. After the United States was unable to score on its next possession, Iziane Marques, who scored a game high 25 points, was fouled and made both her free throws, the final points of the game, to pull within 12 points. However, 27 later time expired and the United States escaped with the 83-71 victory.

"It's our only weakness probably," said Taurasi on the team's fourth quarter lapse. "It's a lack of concentration. Maybe we get a little overconfident, but I don't think it will happen when a game's on the line. We're going to work hard over the next couple of days to fix that."

In addition to Beard's 23 points, Taurasi scored 17 points, including her trio of 3-pointers, and added three assists. For the third game in a row Powell was the USA's leading rebounder with nine to go with her five points and game high four assists.

"We all played okay," said Stephens. "We could have done better but there's always room for improvement. As a whole, overall we did okay. We're getting there. By the time we get to the final games, we're going to be red hot."

"I really like where we are after the first three games," added Auriemma. "We played three really good teams and got a lot done. We've been able to get contributions from a lot of different players and as a team, in certain stretches, we've looked fabulous in those three games. Like any other team we've struggled a little bit at certain times, but what I like is that in all three of the games we've been able to make the adjustments that we've had to make. The players figure out what the other team's strengths and weaknesses are and if we continue to do that, we're going to be okay."

Assisting Auriemma on the sidelines are collegiate head coaches Sherri Coale, from the University of Oklahoma, and Willette White, from Northeastern University (Mass.).

Following a day off, the United States will face Mali on July 18 before completing preliminary action versus Russia on July 19. Competing in Group A are Australia, Cuba, host Czech Republic, France, Japan and Poland. The top two teams in each preliminary group will advance to the medal semifinals with the first place team in Group B facing the second place team in Group A at 5:45 p.m. on July 21, followed by the top team in Group A versus the second team in Group B at 8:00 p.m. that evening. The winners of those games will play for the gold medal at 8:00 p.m. on July 22, while the bronze medal will be contested at 5:45 p.m. that evening.

Defending FIBA Junior World Championship gold medalist, the United States earned the gold with an exciting 78-74 overtime victory over then-defending Junior World Champions Australia in the 1997 competition. Held every four years since 1985, the U.S. finished no better than fifth in the first three competitions. The USA's win today pushed the Americans' overall record at the Junior Worlds to 21-9 (70.0 winning percentage).

OFFICIAL BASKETBALL BOX SCORE  G A M E   T O T A L S
Brazil vs United States
7/16/01 8:45 a.m. at Arena Rondo  Brno, Czech Republic

VISITORS: Brazil (21)
                          TOTFG  3PT         REBOUNDS
No.     N A M E           FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP   A TO BLK S MIN
4  MARQUES, Iziane      *  8 13   3  6   6  7   0  3  3   3  25   3  5  0  2 36
7  BELINAZZO, Juliana   *  1  6   0  4   0  0   0  2  2   3   2   0  1  0  0 22
10 ROCHA, Silvia        *  2  8   0  3   3  4   1  3  4   2   7   1  2  0  1 29
11 DOS SANTOS, Katia    *  2  4   1  1   0  0   1  2  3   0   5   1  2  0  0 15
14 DE SOUZA, Erika      *  4  9   0  0   4  6   1  7  8   2  12   0  3  2  1 28
5  LEITE, Claudia          0  1   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0   0  2  0  0 7
6  BELING, Fernanda        0  0   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0   0  1  0  1 2
8  MANFREDI, Fabiana       2  3   2  3   0  0   0  0  0   1   6   0  1  0  0 6
9  SACKIS, Ana             3 10   2  7   0  0   1  4  5   3   8   1  5  0  2 29
12 CAMARGO, Alessandra     0  4   0  0   3  4   2  2  4   3   3   0  2  1  0 14
13 DOS SANTOS, Flavia      1  1   0  0   1  3   0  1  1   0   3   0  0  0  0 5
15 COELHO, Graziane        0  1   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   1   0   0  0  0  0 7
TEAM ........................................   0  0  0              2
TOTALS                    23 60   8 24  17 24   6 24 30  18  71   6 26  3  7 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 1133  .333   2nd Half: 1227  .444   Game:  .383 DEADBALL
3Pt. FG% 1st Half:  313  .231   2nd Half:  511  .455   Game:  .333  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  610  .600   2nd Half: 1114  .786   Game:  .708      5


HOME TEAM: United States (30)
                          TOTFG  3PT         REBOUNDS
No.     N A M E           FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP   A TO BLK S MIN
06 BEARD, Alana         *  9 17   2  6   3  6   0  2  2   2  23   2  3  0  6 35
07 STROTHER, Ann        *  3  8   0  3   1  1   1  0  1   2   7   0  0  0  0 30
08 TAURASI, Diana       *  6 13   3  7   2  2   0  4  4   1  17   3  3  0  0 29
12 POWELL, Nicole       *  2  6   1  4   0  0   3  6  9   3   5   4  2  0  2 24
13 MOORE, Jessica       *  4  7   0  0   0  0   1  5  6   0   8   2  0  0  1 20
04 PONDEXTER, Cappie       2  4   0  0   5  6   0  0  0   4   9   0  1  0  1 15
09 CHRISTON, Shameka       1  5   0  2   3  3   2  2  4   2   5   0  2  0  0 12
11 MOORE, Loree            2  4   0  0   0  0   3  1  4   3   4   2  6  0  3 15
14 STEPHENS, Stacy         2  5   0  0   1  2   1  3  4   1   5   0  4  1  2 18
15 BJORKLUND, Tera         0  0   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0   0  0  0  0 2
TEAM ........................................   0  0  0              1
TOTALS                    31 69   6 22  15 20  11 23 34  18  83  13 22  1 15 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 1535  .429   2nd Half: 1634  .471   Game:  .449 DEADBALL
3Pt. FG% 1st Half:  111  .091   2nd Half:  511  .455   Game:  .273  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1013  .769   2nd Half:  5 7  .714   Game:  .750      3


OFFICIALS:   Vaughan Mayberry (AUS), Dale Aitchesson (GBR)
TECHNICAL FOULS:
Brazil          none
United States   none
ATTENDANCE:  150
SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  OT1  OT2   TOTAL
Brazil            21   10   12   28                71
United States     26   15   30   12                83


2001 FIBA Women's Junior World Championship Schedule / Results
Preliminary  Round Standings

Group A         W       L       Group B   W       L
Australia       2       0       USA       3       0
Czech Republic  2       0       Russia    2       0
Cuba            1       1       Brazil    2       1
France          1       1       China     0       2
Japan           0       2       Lithuania 0       2
Poland          0       2       Mali      0       2