Welch Continues To Assist Team USA

USA women's basketball earns 72-56 win over Czech Republic Thursday

Daegu, South Korea In seven minutes of action, Oklahoma sophomore Chelsi Welch collected one offensive rebound, one steal and one assist in Team USA's victory. The US women's basketball team defeated Czech Republic, 72-56, in the World University Games Thursday at Junghwa Girls High.

The USA will square off against Serbia-Montenegro, playing for fifth place at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Four players scored in double figures for the USA, led by Heather Schreiber (Texas) and Annissa Hastings (Texas), who scored 19 and 18 points, respectively.

"It was a great effort by everyone on the team," head coach Bill Fennelly (Iowa State) said. "We really played our best of the six games so far. Coach (Cindy) Stein did a great job scouting the Czechs and our players really gave it all they had for 40 minutes in a physical game. It is great to see them smiling! They've earned that!"

The first quarter saw four lead changes, but Team USA took a 19-18 lead after Alexa Johnson (Nebraska) hit a baseline jumper with seven seconds on the clock. The second quarter started with the teams trading traditional three-point plays. There were five lead changes before Evan Unrau (Missouri) drained her first of two consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game at 33-33 with 3:26 on the clock. The Americans closed out the first half on a 14-0 scoring run that gave them a 42-33 advantage going into the lockerroom.

Hastings' third-quarter free throws at the 2:45 mark gave Team USA a 56-43 lead. After a pair of Czech scores to close out the third quarter, USA owned a 56-47 edge.

Schreiber kicked off the fourth quarter with the first of her two 3-pointers in the period, while Hastings put up five points and collected six rebounds in the fourth. The Czechs, who could get no closer than seven points, were down by just eight (64-56) with 4:19 left in the game. Team USA, sparked by Hastings' hustle plays, went on an 8-0 run to close out the game.

"The players came through with outstanding effort and heart," Missouri head coach Cindy Stein said. "It's easy to have a game plan when you have that type of play to execute it."

Hastings finished with 13 rebounds, helping Team USA control the boards (40-23). Unrau had 10 points and eight rebounds, while Tera Bjorklund (Colorado) added 11 points and seven rebounds. The USA shot just 36.4 percent from the floor in the game, but drained 18-of-21 free throws.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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