July 20, 2003

BOSTON (July 20, 2003) -- The one-two punch of Alana Beard (Duke / Shreveport, La.) and Nicole Ohlde (Kansas State / Clay Center, Kan.) scored 13 points apiece as the USA World Championship For Young Women Team (4-0) dismantled Australia 81-57 in the final game of 'friendlies' in Boston. The victory was a true team effort with everyone contributing in the scoring column, while the squad passed off for 24 assists on 35 field goals. The USA, Australia and Brazil young women's teams were training and competing in a series of friendly matches at Northeastern University's Matthews Arena, along with the USA Women's Pan American Games Team July 15-20. The USA Young Women finished a perfect 4-0, Brazil and Australia each finished 1-3 and the USA Pan Ams squad split their two games.

"This is really the first time we've had all 12 players functioning as a unit and I think that was really invaluable to us," said USA and Ohio State University head coach Jim Foster. "It let us see the range of versatility that we have and how many different ways we can score. Having fresh bodies out there helped us defensively. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Australia. But our players just played hard for 40 minutes. We played very, very well, but the intensity of the effort is what I liked. The 40-minute effort, they played hard for 40 minutes. Getting teams to do that is not always easy."

"Australia's definitely a competitive group of athletes," said Ohlde. "They're strong, they're physical and their post players can also step out and knock down that 15-footer. They're very agile. It was a tough match-up, but lucky for us we were able to play them twice and get used to that."

The first quarter was a battle which saw five tied scores and four lead changes and the largest gap came at 2:15 with Australia on top 12-7. With 37 seconds showing, Shawntinice Polk (Arkansas / Hanford, Calif.) made a layup to knot the score at 14-14. Drawing the foul as she drove inside, Polk proceeded to put the United States in the lead for good as she completed the three-point play. Following an Aussie turnover Kristen Mann (UC Santa Barbara / Santa Ana, Calif.) hit an outside jumper and the USA closed the quarter in the lead 17-14.

After Australia's Laura Summerton hit one of two from the line to close the gap to 17-15 at 9:20, the United States went on a 12-0 spree as five different players scored and the game opened up 29-15 with 6:45 remaining in the half. The USA couldn't fully shake Australia and with 2:30 to go the lead was in single digits, 34-25. However, the U.S. turned up its defensive heat, resulting in a pair of turnovers and two missed field goals and by the midway buzzer the United States was in control 38-25.

The United States continued to pressure Australia into mistakes and bad shots, while increasing its lead to 57-39 at the end of three. The lead ballooned to 29 points, 70-41 and 72-43, twice in the fourth quarter as the red, white and blue sailed in for the 81-57 victory.

In addition to the combined 26 points from Beard and Ohlde, the USA's cause was further aided by a game high eight rebounds from Christi Thomas (Georgia / Buford, Ga.), Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers / Chicago, Ill.) and Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota / Hutchinson, Minn.) passed out six assists and Beard, a three-time Atlantic Coast Conference All-Defensive Team honoree, was credited for five steals.

"This was a team effort on both ends, and we communicated well defensively," said Beard. "We moved the ball really well today. We ran Australia's defense, got into the gap and kicked out, we had a good inside-out game offensively. Defensively we had an awesome game because we communicated. I really think that this game proved that as a team we're togther. We're gelling really well, everyone gets along, everyone hangs out on and off the court and I think it's great.

The U.S. dominated the boards 42-26 and shot a sizzling 55.6 percent (35-63 FGs) from the field, while limiting Australia to a frigid 33.9 percent (20-59 FGs) of its shots.

Australia's Michelle Musselwhite and Hollie Grima scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Foster is being assisted by collegiate head coaches Kathy Delaney-Smith of Harvard University (Mass.) and Felisha Legette-Jack of Hofstra University (N.Y.).

The USA Young Women's National Team, along with Australia and Brazil, will travel to Sibenik, Croatia, to finalize preparations for the FIBA World Championship For Young Women. The U.S. begins play on July 25 against France at 6:45 (local, five hours ahead of EDT) and the finals are scheduled for Aug. 3.

USA Basketball Friendly Matches, Boston, Mass.
July 15 USA Young Women 82, Brazil 61
July 16 USA Young Women 61, Australia 56
July 17 Brazil 89, Australia 81
July 19 USA Young Women 74, Brazil 62
 Australia 78, USA Pan Am Women 70
July 20 USA Pan Am Women 60, Brazil 58
 USA Young Women 81, Australia 57

Additional Quotes

Shawntinice Polk:

"I got encouraged by my teammates. They yell at me a lot and I just do better because of that. I'm getting adjusted a little bit still. The more games we play, the more practices we have, the more I get into the flow and the more I can help my team out, which is good."

Kristen Mann:

"I was excited to play again. It is in the back of my mind that my finger is still sore and sensitive. But I try not to think about it. I was tentative on some things, but other than that I was fine. I was just happy to be back out there. It was huge to get those minutes. I really needed to get out there and run up and down the floor and get a feel of how to play with these players. Because I went down the second day of practice and I haven't really had much of a chance to get out there and run up and down with them, so it was really important for me."