U.S. routs Argentina, advances to FIBA gold medal game
30.09.2007 00:00
Sport and Travel
- Source: USA Today
VALDIVIA, Chile (AP) — The Unites States is one win away from qualifying for the 2008 Olympics.
Rebekkah Brunson scored 20 points and the Americans routed Argentina 104-53 on Saturday to advance to the gold medal game at the FIBA Americas tournament. The U.S. will play the winner of the Brazil-Cuba game, which was later Saturday. "Those two are very good teams," guard Sue Bird said. "Brazil right now doesn't have the players we're use to seeing, they're very young. But they're very talented and they're a very good team. Obviously we know what Cuba can do. Both teams ... it's going to be tough no matter who we play." It was a rout from the start as the U.S. (4-0) was too much for Argentina (2-2). The Americans scored the first seven points and jumped out to a 18-2 lead with 1:43 left in the first quarter. Seimone Augustus had seven of her 15 points during that spurt. The U.S. extended the lead to 28-9 after the first quarter and blew open the game in the second period, taking a 56-15 halftime lead. Candace Parker scored 17 points for the U.S., which was forced to qualify for Beijing after finishing third at the World Championships last year. It's the first time America has had to qualify for the Olympics since 1980. After struggling in its opening game against Cuba, the United States has dominated opponents. The U.S. has outscored Jamaica, Canada, and Argentina by an average of nearly 56 points. "We're learning what one another likes to do and just playing off each other," Parker said. Against Argentina, the Americans shot 59% from the field (42-for-71) and forced 30 turnovers. Mariana Cava scored 20 points to lead Argentina, which advanced to the semifinals by finishing second in Group A. Canada beat Mexico 77-38 to advance to the fifth-place game, where the Canadians will play host Chile, which beat Jamaica 75-67.
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