| | ESPN.com news services
USA Basketball's R. Williams Jones Cup team came away with the tournament title on July 20 after a lop-sided 79-24 victory over Malaysia in the fourth and final round of the international tournament in Taipei, Taiwan.
Connecticut senior guard Shea Ralph scored 14 points in the final game and UAB's Deanna Jackson added 13 while shooting 6-for-6 from the field. Tennessee's Michelle Snow grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds while Purdue senior center Camille Cooper added 10 boards.
The American squad, comprised of 12 of the country's top collegians, won the five-team, round-robin tournament with a perfect 4-0 record, beating opponents by an average of 28.5 points. The U.S. Jones Cup team, which has won nine gold medals, improved its all-time Jones Cup record to 114-22.
Host Republic of China (3-1) upended Japan (2-2) 60-50 to claim second place. Korea (1-3) finished fourth and Malaysia was fifth.
Ralph finished as the U.S. team's leading scorer, averaging 12 points. LSU's Marie Ferdinand averaged 11.8 points, followed by UConn's Kelly Schumacher (9.8 ppg) and Jackson (9.5 ppg).
Cooper and Schumacher led the team in rebounding as each averaged 7.3 boards per game in the tournament. UConn junior Sue Bird and St. Joseph's Angela Zampella led the squad in assists with 17 and 16, respectively. Ralph and Ferdinand both had a team-high seven steals, and Schumacher blocked five shots over four games.
Cooper and Florida State's Brooke Wyckoff served as the U.S. team's co-captains.
The U.S. women also posted victories over Japan (83-80, third round), Korea (73-49, second round) and China (85-53, opening round).
The Jones Cup team, coached by Virginia Tech's Bonnie Henrickson, will reassemble on Aug. 29 in Honolulu, Hawaii, to begin training for a Sept. 3 exhibition game against the U.S. women's senior national team, which is coached by former Purdue coach Nell Fortner. | |
ALSO SEE
UConn trio headlines Jones Cup roster
Collegians vie for spot on Jones Cup team
|
