July 25, 2005

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Erlana Larkins scored a team-high 20 points and didn't miss a shot as the U.S. team claimed a gold medal Sunday with a 97-76 win over Serbia & Montenegro at the FIBA Women's U19 World Championship in Tunis, Tunisia. Larkins, a rising sophomore on the UNC women's basketball team, was 9-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line in the win. She played 20 minutes and also added four rebounds.

Starting all eight games in the competition, Larkins averaged 10.8 points and tied for the team lead with 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best .795 from the field. Along with Maryland's Crystal Langhorne and Stanford's Candice Wiggins, Larkins served as a tri-captain for the team.

The U.S. had won this event, formerly known as the Junior World Championship, just once before, in 1997. This time, the competition wasn't even close. The U.S. team averaged 105.9 points per game and won all eight of its games by an average margin of 46.3 points. The squad set 10 tournament records, including highest scoring average and highest field goal percentage (.600).

Atlantic Coast Conference teams were well-represented on the U.S. squad. Langhorne, a rising sophomore, was named the tournament MVP after averaging 16.8 points and shooting .775 percent from the field. Like Larkins, she was perfect in the championship game, going 7-for-7 from the field. Joining Larkins and Langhorne in the starting lineup was Abby Waner, an incoming Duke freshman who scored 12 points in the gold medal game. Among the squad reserves were Virginia's Sharnee Zoll and Maryland's Marissa Coleman. The team was coached by Gail Goestenkors, the head coach at Duke.

The gold medal is Larkins' second in international competition. Like many of the U19 World Championship players, Larkins was a member of the 2004 Junior World Championship Qualifying Team, which won a gold medal in Puerto Rico last August.

One of Larkins' Tar Heel teammates, rising junior Ivory Latta, also has the opportunity to represent the U.S. in international play this summer. Latta is a finalist for the U.S. World University Games Team, which will compete in Turkey next month. A 16-player group will begin training camp Thursday in Colorado Springs, Colo. There the roster will be cut to 12 for the tournament, which runs Aug. 10-19.