USA W-U19 Advances to Gold Medal Game With Semifinal Win Against Canada
Saturday, August 1, 2009 | Women's Basketball
The 2009 USA U19 World Championship Team, of which UF head coach Amanda Butler is an assistant, turned up the defensive intensity and routed Canada 82-51 on Saturday evening to advance to its third consecutive gold medal game.
The United States (7-1) forced 24 turnovers thanks in large part to 19 steals, and held a 39-34 advantage on the boards to defeat Canada (4-4).
The USA's offensive effort was paced by Kelsey Bone's 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. As a team, the United States shot 44.9 percent (35-of-78) from the floor for the game and placed four players in double-figure scoring.
After Canada took a 3-0 lead to begin the game, the U.S. held its opponent scoreless for a span of more than 13 minutes and took a 27-6 lead after the opening quarter. The United States led 50-18 at intermission and didn't look back from that point.
The United States will face Spain on Sunday in the gold medal game of the World Championships. Spain defeated Argentina 67-49 in Saturday's other semifinal match-up.
The Americans have won the gold in 1997, 2005 and 2007.
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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