Future Sooner Leads USA Basketball

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The women's basketball competition at the 2005 International Sports Invitational tipped off Wednesday night in Peterson Gym on the campus of San Diego State University and the USA (1-0) women benefited from 14 points from Courtney Paris (Piedmont H.S. / Piedmont, Calif.) and superior team depth as the U.S. rolled to an 89-69 victory over Russia (0-1) in a game that saw all 15 U.S. players score. In the day's first game, Australia (1-0) held off China (0-1) to claim an 83-70 victory.

The tournament's preliminary round action continues Thursday with the USA facing Australia at 6 p.m. (all times local) in Cox Arena, while Russia and China meet in at 4 p.m. The round-robin play concludes Friday with Australia meeting Russia at 4 p.m. and the USA facing China at 6 p.m.

The women's basketball competition is being held June 8-11 in San Diego as a part of the multi-sport 2005 International Sports Invitational.

The 2005 International Sports Invitational is the opening training for the 15 finalists for the 2005 USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team. Following a two week break after finishing the International Sports Invitational, the U.S. will regroup in Colorado Springs, Colo., for a June 28- July 2 training camp, then head to Washington, D.C., to train July 3-6. Following five additional days (July 7-11) of training and two exhibition games against Hungary's U19 Team in Budapest, Hungary, the 2005 USA U19 Team will travel to Tunis, Tunisia, for the July 15-24 FIBA U19 World Championship Tournament.

USA 89, Russia 69
In a game in which it never trailed, the USA Women's U19 World Championship Team flexed its inside muscle, dominated defensively and took advantage of its overall depth as the U.S. handedly defeated Russia 89-69 in opening day action at the International Sports Invitational.

"Overall I was pleased. We're obviously still working on so many things. We played 15 players which is not an easy thing to do, but I thought everybody came in and contributed in some way whether its was hitting a big shot, getting a big rebound or just a defensive stop," said USA head mentor Gail Goestenkors. "I was very pleased with the chemistry we had out on the floor and the way everybody came in and contributed."

Leading 24-17 at the end of the first quarter, the U.S. limited Russia to a single field goal over the second quarter's first 5:30 and posted an 11-2 run to grab control 35-19.

Russia outscored the USA 18-10 over the remainder of the quarter and retired to the locker room at halftime trailing by eight, 45-37.

Scoring the third quarter's final six points, the U.S. took a 69-55 lead into the final 10 minutes, then, with Candice Wiggins (Stanford / Poway, Calif.) scoring four points, the U.S. tallied the first five points of the fourth quarter to march out to a 74-55 advantage and seal the victory.

While the 6-3 Paris recorded a U.S. best 14 points and added seven rebounds, four of those coming on the offensive end, Wiggins made 6-of-8 shots and finished with 13 points, and Erlana Larkins (North Carolina / Riviera Beach, Fla.) sank 12-of-12 free throws to account for her 12 points.

"Candice (Wiggins) is a great leader. She gets us in our sets, makes sure everybody is in the right spot, and her energy defensively is unmatched," said Goestenkors.

"Coach G gave us notebooks at the beginning of training and told us to write down the things we would bring to the team and the first thing I wrote was energy, energy, energy," stated Wiggins who claimed Pacific 10 Conference Player and Freshman of the Year honors. "We have some of the best post players in the world and we utilized them to our advantage but I feel like we can even get it into them more. Our offensive rebounding is really what sets the tone for our team."

The U.S. shot 50.8 percent (32-63 Fgs) from the field, while Russia sank 47.8 percent of its shot. Owning a 32-26 advantage on the glass, the U.S. forced Russia into 26 turnovers.

Elena Danilotchkina led Russia's effort scoring 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting overall and 4-of-4 from 3-point.

"We feel like our post play is one of our greatest strengths and we've got so many good posts were not relying on one post and they all give us a little different look. At times we got away from our post players and you could really tell and then when we settled down and moved the ball and go back inside that's when we saw a lot of success," remarked Goestenkors.

"I thought we were really able to take control inside the paint," added the University of Oklahoma bound Paris. "We have really good post players and we were able to do our thing and control the paint. It's also really nice to have guards who are unselfish and can get you the ball. It's a lot of fun playing with them."

PRELIMINARY ROUND SCHEDULE (times are PDT)
Wednesday, June 8
USA 89, Russia 69

Thursday, June 9
4 p.m. USA vs. Australia

Friday, June 10
6 p.m. USA vs. China

FINALS
Saturday, June 11
Cox Arena (San Diego State University)
2 p.m. Bronze Medal Game
6 p.m. Gold Medal Game

STANDINGS
USA 1-0
Australia 1-0
China 0-1
Russia 0-1

2005 USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team Finalists
No. Name, Pos., Ht., High School or College/Hometown
17    Jolene Anderson, G, 5-8, Wisconsin / Port Wing, WI
14   Nicky Anosike, G, 6-3, Tennessee / Staten Island, NY
04    Erika Arriaran, G, 5-10, Norco / #Texas / Norco, CA
16    Keshonda Carrier, C, 6-7, LaGrange / #Auburn / Lake Charles, LA
09    Essence Carson, G, 6-0, Rutgers / Paterson, NJ
12    Quianna Chaney, G, 5-11, LSU / Baton Rouge, LA
08   Marissa Coleman, G/F, 6-1, St. Johns College H.S.
        /#Maryland/Cheltenham, MD
13   Crystal Langhorne, F/C, 6-2, Maryland / Willingboro, NJ
11   Erlana Larkins, F/C, 6-2, North Carolina / Riviera Beach, FL
15    Courtney Paris, C, 6-3, Piedmont / #Oklahoma / Piedmont, CA
05    Abigail Waner, G, 5-11, Thunder Ridge / #Duke / Highlands Ranch, CO
07   Candice Wiggins, G, 5-10, Stanford / Poway, CA
18    Earnesia Williams, F, 6-0, Sapulpa / #Texas / Sapulpa, OK
10    Christina Wirth, F, 6-1, Seton Catholic / #Vanderbilt / Mesa, AZ
06   Sharnee' Zoll, G, 5-7, Virginia / Philadelphia, PA

Roster and story are compliments of USA Basketball. For a box score and additional information please visit www.usabasketball.com.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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