USA W-U19 Team Rallies Against France; Marches on to Semifinals
Friday, July 31, 2009 | Women's Basketball
The 2009 USA U19 World Championship Team, of which UF head coach Amanda Butler is an assistant, rallied from a first-half deficit to post an 88-75 victory against France on Friday afternoon in the medal quarterfinals. The United States moves on to the World Championship Semifinal Round.
The U.S. (6-1), which trailed for the majority of the first half and was down by as many as eight points, was led by co-captains Skylar Diggins and Nnemkadi Ogwumike, each of whom scored 16 points in the game.
Down 34-26, the United States outscored France 20-6 in a five-minute run that closed the first half and opened the second.
For the game, the United States shot 50.0 percent (35-of-70) from the field and out-rebounded France 44-26.
The United States will face Canada (4-3) in the semifinals on Aug. 1. Canada just pulled off a narrow 50-49 victory against previously undefeated Australia (6-1) in the first quarterfinal contest. The other semifinal will feature Argentina (5-2), which beat Russia (4-3) 67-75, going up against the winner of the Lithuania (3-3) vs. Spain (6-0) quarterfinal game.
The official website for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championships for Women is: http://thailand2009.fiba.com/ and complete coverage of Coach Butler's participation in the championships will be available at www.GatorZone.com.
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