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Friday, September 22
Americans double up on Kiwis
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Challenged in its first three games at
the Olympics, the U.S. women's basketball team left no doubt in
this one.
|  | | The U.S.'s Dawn Staley splits a pair of Kiwis as the Americans had an easy time in their 93-42 victory. |
The United States scored four seconds into the game Friday with
New Zealand and rolled to a 93-42 victory, clinching at least a tie
for first place in its preliminary group.
New Zealand is fielding a women's basketball team in the
Olympics for the first time and if the sport had a mercy rule, it
would have been invoked for this game. It was a complete mismatch.
"It's like they're men," New Zealand's Kirstin Daly said of
the Americans. "It's like playing first division men. It's an
honor to be on the court with them."
Faster, taller and quicker, the Americans (4-0) jumped over the
New Zealand players for rebounds, drove through them for easy shots
and outran them for layups. The only thing New Zealand (0-4) had
going its way was the crowd, which applauded politely when the
United States scored and roared when the New Zealanders made a
play.
The New Zealanders lost their first three games in Sydney by an
average of 27 points. Friday, they were down 30 at halftime, 47-17.
U.S. coach Nell Fortner's biggest challenge was keeping her players
interested in the second half.
"We didn't look our best at times, but sometimes it's hard when
you're in a game where there's not really a major challenge to
really pick yourself up," Ruthie Bolton-Holifield said. "We know
we just have to focus on things that make us better."
The 42 points were the fewest allowed by a U.S. women's
basketball team in the Olympics. The fewest previously had been 47
on three occasions, most recently in a 107-47 victory over Zaire in
1996.
Every U.S. player scored, led by Katie Smith's 14 points. OK,
Chamique Holdsclaw didn't score, but she's out with a stress
fracture.
Bolton-Holifield and Natalie Williams each scored 13 points,
while DeLisha Milton and Lisa Leslie had 12 apiece. Yolanda
Griffith scored 11. After the tough game Wednesday with Russia, this
was like a casual stroll down Olympic Boulevard.
The United States set the tone with the opening tip. Griffith
tapped the ball to Teresa Edwards, who fired the ball to Leslie for
a layup. Griffith scored the next time down the floor and it was
clear then that New Zealand was in over its head.
"We want people to fear us when they get on the court,"
Griffith said. "The only way they're going to do that is if we
come out aggressive and play tough defense and execute offensively.
I think tonight just proved our point."
New Zealand managed to stay within striking distance for a while
and trailed 18-11 with 12:26 left in the half. Any hope the New
Zealanders had of keeping it close ended right there.
The United States closed the half with a 29-6 run, starting it
with a 9-0 burst that included a play-of-the-day pass by Edwards.
The five-time Olympian flicked a one-handed pass off the dribble
three-fourths the length of the court and hit Smith in stride for a
layup.
A 13-1 run that included five points by Bolton-Holifield left
the United States with its 30-point halftime lead. It only got
bigger from there, reaching 52.
"It was a good opportunity to once again use our depth,"
Fortner said. "We did some good things offensively and did some
things we needed to work on and got good minutes out of bench."
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ALSO SEE
U.S.-New Zealand box score
New Zealand struggling in first Olympic appearance
Depth and defense push U.S. women past Cuba
Russian coach blasts Cuba for rough play
Swoopes, Leslie help U.S. hold off South Korea
Dydek impressive in Olympic debut for Poland
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