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Friday, August 25
Americans use defense to smother Canada
Associated Press
DALLAS -- There might be times in the Sydney Olympics when
the shots just don't fall for the U.S. women's basketball team.
Against Canada on Wednesday night, the Americans showed they
have what it takes to handle that situation: solid defense.
|  | | Natalie Williams, left, and Canada's Tammy Sutton-Brown fight for a loose ball as the U.S. beat Canada. |
Ruthie Bolton-Holifield gave the team a spark off the bench with
14 points and the United States played suffocating defense in
beating the Canadian Olympic team for the second time in as many
nights, 70-31.
The Americans held Canada to 26.7 percent shooting and came up
with 18 steals while forcing 23 turnovers.
"I think this could be one of the best defensive Olympic teams
that we've ever had," guard Nikki McCray said. "It's got to be a
focus. In order for us to win, we have to be able to stop people."
The United States certainly stopped Canada. The Americans
pressured the ballhandlers on the perimeter, closed off the passing
lanes and kept the post players from getting the ball. Almost every
shot the Canadians took was contested.
So effective was the defense that Canada went the final 9:10 of
the first half and the opening 4:42 of the second half without a
basket. The only point Canada managed during that stretch was a
free throw by Stacey Dales.
"It's tough to combat their depth," Dales said. "They have so
many players that come in and out. They're very talented. We can't
afford to get into a slump. When that happens, they're up 20 and
it's really tough to come back from that deficit."
That's exactly what happened as the United States expanded a
19-10 lead to 39-11 during Canada's slump. The lead would have been
bigger except the U.S. inside players kept missing layups, and
Katie Smith, the team's most reliable outside shooter, couldn't get
her shots to drop.
Smith was 0-for-5 in the first half and was wide open on every
shot. She hit two quick ones at the start of the second half,
however, including a 3-pointer, to help the United States increase
its lead to 30 points.
"I thought the effort was always there, but sometimes you try
so hard it goes in the other direction," U.S. coach Nell Fortner
said. "The post players had great looks at the basket and there
was just a lid on the basket in the first half.
"We knew those shots would eventually fall. We had to be
patient and just ride out that little storm and that's what we
did."
The United States shot 67 percent (16-for-24) in the second half
to finish the game at 52 percent. Yolanda Griffith added 11 points
for the United States, while Vicky Bullett had nine and McCray and
Kara Wolters scored eight each.
Tammy Sutton-Brown led Canada with eight points and 10 rebounds.
The United States beat Canada 81-40 in San Antonio on Tuesday
night and they meet again in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday. The U.S.
team then will start making its way to Sydney, playing six more
exhibition games before its Sept. 16 Olympics opener with South
Korea.
It was the 100th game with a U.S. team for Fortner, who starred
in basketball and volleyball at Texas. Fortner, 86-14 with a world
championship in 1998, said she wasn't keeping track.
"Right now, we're trying to win a gold medal," she said.
"That's what I think about all the time. I don't care if I coach
100, 500 or whatever. I don't even think about it in those terms."
Her latest victory had an inauspicious start. The U.S. team
missed six of its first seven shots, including three layups, but it
didn't matter because the Americans kept Canada in check at the
other end.
After getting two baskets in the first 4:15, the Canadians made
only three more the rest of the half. Once its shooters warmed up,
the United States pulled away.
Bolton-Holifield helped get the Americans going. She hit a jump
shot in transition and banked in another after a nifty pump fake to
spark an 11-0 run that put the United States ahead to stay at 13-4.
Later, Bolton-Holifield nailed a jumper from the wing and a
3-pointer as the United States scored the final eight points of the
half for a 31-11 lead.
The lead grew to 43-13 when Teresa Edwards, about to become a
five-time Olympian, fed McCray for a fastbreak layup. Bullett's
three-point play after a steal made it 52-17 midway through the
second half.
The United States still does not have its complete team. Lisa
Leslie and DeLisha Milton will join the team in California. Sheryl
Swoopes will come on board after the WNBA finals.
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