July 17, 2000 TAIPEI, Taiwan - Behind a balanced scoring attack that saw 11 of the 12 USA players score, including four in double figures, the 2000 USA Basketball Women's R. William Jones Cup Team, under the direction of head coach Bonnie Henrickson, opened the R. William Jones Cup tournament Sunday night with an 85-53 victory over the host Republic of China in Taipei, Taiwan. Washington freshman Loree Payne came off the bench and saw 10 minutes of action in the first contest. She hit a three-point basket for her lone field goal of the game, and finished 1-for-4 from the field, all from three point range. Payne, who was UW's leading scorer last season, also picked up three rebounds. "Offensively, we were very unselfish, made the extra pass and executed well against man and zone defenses," said Henrickson, also head mentor at Virginia Tech. With a starting lineup that included Sue Bird (Connecticut / Syosset, N.Y.), Marie Ferdinand (Louisiana State / Miami, FL), Brooke Wyckoff (Florida State / West Chester, Ohio), Camille Cooper (Purdue / Georgetown, Ky.) and Kelly Schumacher (Connecticut / Quyon, Canada), the USA received a balanced effort in scoring and on the boards. Shea Ralph (Connecticut / Fayetteville, N.C.) came off the bench to score 15 points in 15 minutes, Wyckoff contributed 12, and Ferdinand and Deanna Jackson (Alabama-Birmingham / Brewton, Ala.) both added 11 points. Schumacher led the USA's rebounding efforts, securing eight boards to go with her nine points, while Bird recorded a game best seven assists to go with her six points. "I thought we played well," said Ralph, who also contributed five rebounds and three steals. "I was impressed with our posts. They did a good job defensively and finished their shots." With the score standing 8-6 in favor of the United States with 15:39 remaining in the first half, the USA went on a 30-13 run with Ralph contributing nine points as the U.S. took command 38-19. "I was pleased with our defensive intensity, scoring 22 points in transition off our defense in the first half," Henrickson said. Trailing 42-21 at halftime, despite a game high 21 points from Hui-Yun Cheng, the Republic of China national team never got any closer than a 20-point deficit. With a little under 16 minutes remaining in the second half, the score was 49-29, however, the USA never allowed ROC to get any closer and sailed in for the 85-53. "We came together well as a team," said Wyckoff. "Republic of China is a good team and our work from training camp paid off." Although the U.S. shot 45.7 percent (32-70 FGs) from the field, including 57.1 percent (4-7 3pt FGs), its defense limited the Republic of China to 28.8 percent (19-66 FGs) from the floor, and the USA outrebounded ROC 51 to 19. The 2000 R. William Jones Cup is a six-team, round robin tournament being held July 16-20. The USA will continue play on Monday, July 17, facing the Korea Collegiate All-Star Women's Team. Game time is 6:00 p.m.(local time). |
