Paris Scores 12 in USA Victory

Sept. 16, 2007

TRENTON, N.J. - Courtney Paris scored 12 points as the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team pounded Australia, 96-64, Sunday afternoon in a tune-up match for the FIBA Americas Tournament at the Sovereign Bank Arena.

"I think one of the reasons I'm here is my size," said the 6-3 Paris, "my uniqueness with my strength inside, so I just try to use it to my advantage."

The University of Oklahoma junior, one of three active collegians on the USA roster, was perfect from the field and added four points at the free-throw line to help the USA take its fifth international victory to stay undefeated in 2007. Paris came off the bench to play 17 minutes and record three assists, two rebounds and a blocked shot.

"I was frustrated because my rebounding wasn't there today," Paris said. "That's the one element of my play that's usually a sure thing but, today, it seemed like the ball was slipping out of my hands.

"Otherwise, I felt very good about my play. I fit in and did my job."

Team USA handled Australia despite having only 10 players on its roster, though; Australia was without team members Lauren Jackson (Seattle Storm), the 2007 WNBA MVP, and Penny Taylor (Phoenix Mercury).

"We got a chance to make some good evaluations," USA head coach Anne Donovan said. "I saw good chemistry out there, defensively, and our offenses didn't look too bad either. We still have a lot to work on and I'll be happy once we have our full roster for Chile. But, overall, I saw some good things out there today."

The USA shot nearly 60 percent (34-of-57) from the field to Australia's 40 percent (23-of-58) shooting and capitalized on 28 Aussie turnovers, turning them into 28 points.

USA veteran Tina Thompson (Houston Comets) came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points. Stanford University's Candice Wiggins, playing her first senior national team game, scored 18.

A sluggish start saw the USA up 8-6 midway through the first quarter, but the Americans used an 8-0 run to take an 18-9 lead.

USA led 39-25 at halftime and 65-42 at the end of three quarters.

Kara Lawson (Sacramento Monarchs) led the USA with a game-high seven rebounds and team-best four points. Sue Bird (Seattle Storm) scored nine points and Tennessee's Candice Parker finished with eight.

Natalie Porter scored 13 to lead Australia.

The USA Women's Senior National Team will take Monday off and then has its final domestic practice session Tuesday, Sept. 18. The U.S. and Australia meet up again Wednesday, Sept. 19, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

The 27-member Team USA will decide the 12 members who will represent the team for its remaining competitions, including the 2008 Olympics, after Wednesday's matchup.

Upcoming International Competitions
Before setting its sights on defending its Olympic title, the U.S. must first qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games. Host China and 2006 FIBA World Championship gold medalist Australia have earned automatic berths to the 2008 Olympic women's basketball tournament. Five additional teams will punch their ticket to Beijing at the 2007 FIBA Zone Championships, as the gold medalists in each of the FIBA zones (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania) qualify to compete in Beijing.

Slated for Sept. 26-30 in Valdivia, Chile, in addition to the USA, teams participating in the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship will be Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico.

Should the United States not return home from Chile with the gold medal, there will be one final chance to qualify for the Olympics at the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament slated for June 9-15 at a site to be determined.

Teams finishing in second, third and fourth place at the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament will have one final chance to earn a spot in Beijing's 12-nation field at the 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Those three nations along with nine other national teams from around the globe who did not claim gold at the remaining FIBA zones, including two from Africa (silver and bronze medalists), two from Asia (silver and bronze medalists), four from Europe (second through fourth place finishers) and one from Oceania (silver medalist), will compete for the final five Olympic slots at the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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