U.S. Women Make Their Opening Statement Heard
United States 97, Czech Republic 57
DeLisha Milton-Jones brings down a rebound as Team USA closes out the Czech Republic in its first game.
(By Eric Gay -- Associated Press)
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Sunday, August 10, 2008
BEIJING, Aug. 9 -- Kara Lawson lunged aggressively toward Czech Republic point guard Hana Machova, raised her arms and noticed how Machova gave up the ball before crossing half court. Then, when the Czech Republic got in its halfcourt offense, Lawson noticed that Machova was standing still at the top of the key. It was late in the first quarter, and the U.S. women's Olympic basketball team had a small lead, but Lawson had seen enough by then.
"We really felt we started chipping away at their armor," Lawson said.
By the end of the U.S. debut on Saturday, the Czech Republic had no armor remaining, after the Americans won 97-57 and established the style of play that it hopes will help them throughout this tournament -- when it faces host China on Monday.
The U.S. team started slowly, trailing 8-0 before Diana Taurasi came slicing down the lane to hit an off-balance, baseline fadeaway. The Czech Republic used its motion offense almost flawlessly to take a 13-2 lead but the Americans started trapping, forcing turnovers and wearing down their opponents with superior quickness and athleticism in their 26th straight Olympic win.
"We talked about this in the third and fourth quarter, even though we're up 25, 30 points, we're playing for something bigger -- we want to win this tournament," Lawson said. "We want to keep improving and keep getting better."
The U.S. women have spent less than two weeks with each other, using this short gap in the WNBA season to come together as a team. They are facing several teams that have spent much more time training and preparing, but no other country can insert a second unit as lethal as the Americans, with Sylvia Fowles (16 points), Cappie Pondexter (12 points) and Candace Parker providing a constant stream of speed and energy.
The U.S. team was determined to take out any and everything in its path on Saturday. In the second half, Parker came charging down the court and got pushed while attempting a layup. As she went soaring into the air, Parker bumped a referee into the basketball support. "She got in the way," Parker said with a shrug. "She took the brunt of it. I was all right."
The Americans now look to avenge an 84-81 loss to China at the Good Luck Beijing Tournament in April, when they were playing without Lisa Leslie. With Coach Tom Maher, a native of Australia, stressing an up-tempo style, China loves to run, which Taurasi said plays into the Americans' hands. "That's what I'm conditioned to do, get up and down," Taurasi said after scoring a game-high 17 points. So are her teammates.
