Aug. 22, 2011
WASHINGTON - The 2011 USA Basketball Women's World University Games Team (6-0) won the gold medal with a 101-66 victory over Taiwan (5-1) on Sunday night in Shenzhen, China. Georgetown University Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy, along with the 12 players and coaching staff, brought home the gold to conclude tournament play.
USA Basketball has claimed gold at the last four WUGs in which it has entered a team (2001, 2005, 2009 and 2011). Further, the U.S., which has competed in a total of 16 World University Games, now owns a record eight golds, six silvers and one bronze medal and boasts a 95-15 all-time win-loss record in WUG play. Taiwan's silver marks its first women's basketball medal ever at the World University Games, while Australia previously claimed gold once and bronze twice.
The USA's game plan of going inside early and often, making the most of its height advantage (Taiwan's average height is 5'9" and the USA's is 6"1"), paid off in spades as it outscored Taiwan 62-22 in the paint on the night and got all but its final field goal of the first quarter from inside.
The Americans survived a pair of lead changes in the first before taking the lead for good with the score 16-14. Taiwan would cut it to six in the second quarter, but a 9-0 put the game out of reach once again. Taiwan got the first half's final points, one of its eight 3-pointers on the night, and the first half ended with the American women holding a commanding 55-38 upper hand.
Taiwan managed to cut it again to 15 points early in the second half, 57-42, but that was as close as it would get for the remainder of the contest. The USA's depth and size were just too much for the Asian side as it put together a 12-0 string to put the game well out of reach, 69-42, with 5:06 left in the quarter. By the end of the third period, the stars and stripes owned a 75-54 lead.
A three in the fourth spurred another 12-0 run in which six different players scored, and suddenly it was a 33-point game, 93-60, with 4:08 still to play.
While the Taiwanese continued to play hard through the remainder of the game, they were just no match for the depth and strength of the gold medal winners.
The World University Games are a multi-sport competition organized every other year by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The USA women's basketball team is comprised of U.S. citizens who are currently enrolled in college and have remaining eligibility.
USA Basketball women's teams have participated in 16 World University Games and collected a record eight gold medals, six silvers and one bronze medal. Since 1973, the first year the USA women competed in the WUGs, the United States has compiled an 95-15 overall record. In 2009, led by 2010 FIBA World Champion Tina Charles, the USA posted a 7-0 slate en route to the gold medal.
