Michigan State University Athletics
USA U20 Team Dominates Mexico, Moves to 3-0
8/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Aug. 11, 2006
MEXICO CITY, Mexico - The United States Under 20 Women's Basketball Team, coached by Michigan State's Joanne P. McCallie, improved its record to 3-0 in the FIBA Americas U20 Championship for Women with a dominating 124-38 win over host Mexico on Thursday (Aug. 10).
The United State's 86-point win is the largest margin of victory by any team in the nine tournament games played so far.
"This team is not afraid to really get after it," McCallie said. "They are a motivated group in the sense that even though they really haven't been challenged by the opponent, they have motivated themselves. Everybody on this team could be a captain in one way or another. The way they play as a team, with the extra pass, is a tremendous strength of theirs."
The US sprinted to an early 12-0 lead en route to posting a huge 60-21 halftime score. Five Americans scored in double figures in the win, led by Ohio State guard Marscilla Packer's 20 points. MSU senior guard Victoria Lucas-Perry (Flint, Mich.) earned her first start of the Championship and contributed nine points, three steals, one rebound and an assist in 19 minutes of action. In three games, Lucas-Perry is averaging 9.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Team USA continued its dominance on defense by racking up 13 steals and forcing Mexico into 31 turnovers. McCallie's squad shot its tournament-best 63.2 percent (43 of 68) from the field while the hosts managed only 33.3 percent (13 of 39) from the floor. The US also produced new team highs in free throws made and attempted with a 26-of-45 effort.
McCallie lauded her club's performance by saying, "Their focus is really something they accomplish as a team. I thought everybody stepped up and played their role. We are getting better every game."
Overall, the Americans are out-scoring their international opponents by a margin of 58.7 points per game (103.7 to 45.0) and pulling down 19.0 more rebounds per game (35.3 to 16.3).
With two games remaining, the US will face the Bahamas (0-3) on Friday at 3 p.m. EDT and Brazil (3-0) on Saturday to close out the tournament. Brazil is the only other undefeated team in the Championship heading into Friday's action.
