Thompson, U.S. Women Again Win in Fine Fashion

United States 108, China 63

BEIJING, Aug. 11 -- Tina Thompson had taken a behind-the-back drop pass from teammate Tamika Catchings and had leapt toward the basket. Chinese guard Bian Lan then ran into Thompson and sent her crashing into the padded protective barrier in front of several photographers.

But on this day not even a collision like that could stop Thompson. She released the ball on contact, and it hit the backboard, then bounced twice on the rim before falling through, as Thompson slapped the barrier in celebration. In the United States' 108-63 demolition of China at Wukesong Indoor Stadium on Monday, Thompson made shots from everywhere on the court to finish with a game-high 27 points.

"When somebody is on, the thing you've got to do is get them the ball," Catchings said.

Thompson, the Houston Comets star, made her first six shots from the field and finished 8 for 9 in the first half with 21 points. She appeared capable of breaking the U.S. Olympic scoring record owned by her former high school and college teammate Lisa Leslie, who scored 35 points against Japan in 1996.

"She could've easily" broken the record, Leslie said afterward. "She's so unselfish. I think she got a little gun-shy. We were like, 'Tina shoot it!' She was hot, hot, hot."

Thompson took just five more shots in the second half, stopping for good after she air-balled a short-range jump shot in the fourth quarter. She still finished with the fourth-highest scoring total for a U.S. woman in the Olympics -- the most since Sheryl Swoopes scored 29 in 2000.

It was another accolade for Thompson, whose résumé includes being the first woman drafted in the WNBA in 1997, four WNBA championships and a 2004 Olympic gold medal. "If you picked the best five players in the world, she's one of them," said China Coach Tom Maher, who spent the 2001 season with the Washington Mystics.

But despite her heavily decorated career, Thompson is often underappreciated. "It's funny. Even in Houston, when they were so successful, all you heard [about] was [Cynthia] Cooper and Swoopes. They did their thing, but Tina was the one that always stood out to me," guard Diana Taurasi said. "Even in 2004 [at the Athens Olympics] she was the one that always stepped up and hit big shots. She is our go-to in a lot of ways."

Thompson is always identifiable by her bright maroon lipstick, which has almost become part of her uniform, but she has never been one to seek the spotlight.

"Recognition is not what I play for. I play this game, definitely to win," Thompson said. "I enjoy playing this game and I enjoy playing at the level that I'm playing at and hopefully, I've been a role model enough to affect one little girl. If that's possible, for me, my job is done."

Thompson, a single mother, brought her 3-year-old son, Dyllan, with her to Beijing to share in this experience. But she joked that since the women's team is staying in the same hotel as the U.S. men, Dyllan has been wrapped up in men's team superstars LeBron James and Chris Paul.

"He's seen us for a long time. He might be a little over us," Thompson said with a laugh. "It's on to the new faces."

James, Paul, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Jason Kidd were all in attendance as Thompson scored 13 points during a 23-0 first-quarter run that turned an 11-10 deficit against China into a 33-11 lead.

"That was four-peat Tina. That's the old Tina Thompson that I've gotten to know," said Taurasi, who is Thompson's teammate on Russian EuroLeague team Spartak Moscow in the winter. "There is nobody that I want to go into a game with more than Tina. She's a winner."

Thompson was asked where she would rank the highest-scoring game of her Olympic career. "I don't know if I can rank this moment, this particular game, but being here in general, it ranks pretty high," Thompson said. "It's the second time for me being a part of the Olympic Games. Considering the caliber of player that we have in our country, it's not easy to be on this team. Right now, it's probably in about second place. But around the 23rd [the night of the gold medal game], it might move up, depending on the outcome."