Paris' Assist Seals USA U21 Opener

June 29, 2007

Box Score PDF | Quotes | Photo Gallery | USA U21 Central

MOSCOW, Russia - Reigning AP National Player of the Year Courtney Paris posted 14 points and seven rebounds as the USA U21 Team squeezed out a 90-88 victory over Australia in its opening game of the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship.

Paris teamed with fellow All-Americans Candice Wiggins (30 points) and Crystal Langhorne (24 points, 16 rebounds) to lead the offensive charge for the Red, White and Blue.

The USA U21 Team fell behind by 16 points early in the game but clawed its way back before taking its first lead with 2 minutes to play. At halftime, the USA had cut it to 44-35 and with 10 minutes to play it was a seven-point, 70-63, game.

"There was a lack of readiness on our team's part," said USA U21 National Team and Duke University (N.C.) head coach Joanne P. McCallie . "You're excited to play, but being excited to play doesn't mean you're ready to play. We just weren't quite ready. Heck, Australia's anthem didn't even get played. They were upset to begin the game. Then they came out very strong, they hit some big shots and established momentum early. For us, we had to claw. That was a blue collar game.

"Looking at the fourth quarter, you have to give credit to our team, that's a 27-18 run, that was an extremely dominant fourth quarter and that was the difference in the game."

After the US and Australian squads exchanged 3-pointers and the lead during the final two minutes of play, it was a pass from Paris that helped seal the victory. With 48 seconds on the clock, Wiggins came off a screen and took the feed from Paris. She clinched the game with a 3-pointer that produced the final tally of 90-88.

"Candice is from Southern California and three times in high school we ended up playing her team in state championship games. I've watched her knock down so many big shots. She's the girl that wants to take them. You're always worried when you're on the other team. Knowing that she's on my team and she's going to make that shot, I want to give it to her because I have full belief in her. If she misses it, I know Lang (Crystal Langhorne) or myself will get that rebound. It's fun to play with players like that."

Wisconsin's Jolene Anderson contributed nine points and Duke's Abby Waner scored seven. No other USA player scored more than four points.

Renae Camino's 21 points led Australia, Kathleen MacLeod had 20, Abby Bishop scored 16, Jenna O'Hea had 12 and Elyse Penaluna finished with 10 points.

The USA outrebounded Australia 45-22 and came close to the Aussies total rebounding output with 21 on the offensive end. However, the USA coughed up the ball 18 times and Australia had 15 turnovers. Australia's bread and butter was beyond the arc as the squad hit nearly half their field goals (29-62 FGs, 14-31 3pt FGs) from afar.

In other Group B action, Spain (1-0) needed double overtime to score a 90-86 victory over Brazil (0-1), while Hungary (1-0) defeated Japan (0-1) 77-58. In Group A, China opens against France, Russia will meet Canada and the day concludes with a match between Mali and Belgium.

The American women continue play on June 30 against Brazil at 8:15 p.m. (12:15 p.m. EDT) and face Hungary on July 1 at 3:45 p.m. (7:45 a.m. EDT). Following a day off, the USA resumes preliminary round play on July 3 against Spain at 1:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. EDT) and on July 4 the squad will celebrate the country's birthday with an 11:15 a.m. (3:15 a.m. EDT) tip against Japan. Quarterfinals are slated for July 6, the semifinals will be held on July 7 and the finals are scheduled for July 8.

The USA is hoping to defend its world title in this age group, open to athletes 21-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1986), at the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship, which runs through July 8.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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