USA U19 National Team Defeats China in World Championship Preliminary Game
Friday, July 24, 2009 | Women's Basketball
The 2009 USA U19 World Championship Team, of which UF head coach Amanda Butler is an assistant of, defeated China, 88-53, in a preliminary round game Friday evening in Bangkok, Thailand.
The USA (1-1), which lost a tight 90-86 decision to Spain (2-0) in its first game of Group D action, plays Mali (0-2) on Sat., July 25 at 8:45 a.m. EDT). China is the fourth team in the group and sports a 1-1 record after Friday's win. The top three finishing teams in each preliminary round group will advance to the July 27-29 second round. The quarterfinals will be played on July 31, semifinal action is scheduled for Aug. 1 and the gold medal will be contested on Aug. 2.
The Red, White & Blue never trailed during Friday's contest, scoring the first eight points en route to a 23-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. China got within seven points, 27-17, with 7:21 remaining in the second quarter, but the USA was able to maintain its lead by winning the quarter, 17-10, taking a double-digit lead (33-22) with 5:01 left in the first half and China never got any closer.
The U.S. held a commanding 54-26 rebounding advantage during the game, paced by Nnemkadi Ogwumike's (Stanford / Cypress, Texas) double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Players eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens and born on or after Jan. 1, 1990.
The official website for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championships for Women is: http://thailand2009.fiba.com/
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