U.S. Rebounds to Rout Cuba

April 20, 2008

BEIJING -- The U.S. Women's Senior National Team rebounded from its opening round loss in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament by routing Cuba, 92-60, Sunday at Wukesong Arena in the second day of preliminary play.

Former LSU star Sylvia Fowles led the U.S. to victory with a monster game. Fowles scored 25 points and added 18 rebounds and six blocks.

"After our loss yesterday we kind of had a chip up on our shoulders because we didn't do some things very well," Fowles said. "We made it our business to come out here today and make sure we got off to the right start and get things flowing within our offense."

Katie Smith scored 19 points and Swin Cash added 12. Lisa Leslie and Crystal Langhorne contributed 10 each. Courtney Paris scored five points, going 1-for-2 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line, and had two blocks, an assist and a steal in 11 minutes.

"I'm really pleased with how we came out today, we started the game really well," U.S. head coach Anne Donovan said. "It was our focus to start the game very strong and aggressive. We felt like we needed to come right at Cuba and attack them early and we executed that game plan very well.

"I think Sylvia was extra motivated today since she wasn't on the floor very much yesterday due to foul trouble. She came out and had a monster game and Lisa came out and took a smaller role today. It's nice to see the versatility of our players."

The U.S. set the game's tone early, starting a 9-0 run from the tip and making its first six field goals while holding Cuba to 1-of-7 during the span. The U.S. led 24-16 at the end of the first quarter and 48-31 at halftime.

After shooting dismally against Australia, which defeated the Americans 74-60 on Saturday, Team USA drained 53 percent of its shots including a 38 percent clip from beyond the arc Sunday. Cuba made just 30 percent of its field goals.

With a 70-47 advantage entering the final quarter, the U.S. cruised to its first win of the Beijing tournament.

Suchitel Avila led Cuba with 17 points, Yayma Boulet had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Yakelyn Plutin scored 11.

The U.S. next faces South Korea on April 21 (1:30 a.m. Central). Following a day off, the USA will meet New Zealand on April 23 (9:15 a.m. Central) and closes preliminary play against host China on April 24 (7 a.m. Central).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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