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April 11, 2006

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Canberra, Australia -- Upping its spring exhibition record to a perfect 10-0, the 2006 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team (4-0 Opals World Challenge) earned a 91-66 victory over Chinese Taipei (Taiwan / 0-4) in 2006 Opals World Challenge play on Tuesday night in Canberra, Australia. The USA's performance was highlighted by four players who scored in double digits, including a dominating showing by Tina Thompson (Houston Comets), who scored 24 points in the first half and capped the night with a game-high 28 points in just 18 minutes of action; while Candace Parker (Tennessee / Naperville, Ill.) finished with 13 points and led the game with 12 rebounds.

"Anne (Donovan) and Dawn (Staley) said in the beginning of the game that our inside game was definitely going to be the key to the game tonight," said Thompson. "I played to the strengths that they said we could take advantage of and it was there. I just kept on going there and as long as they let me keep going there, I just went on ahead and did it."

The Opals World Challenge concludes with the second USA-Australia clash on April 12 at 8:00 p.m. (6:00 a.m. EDT), preceded by a China versus Chinese Taipei game at 6:00 p.m. (4:00 a.m. EDT)

Chinese Taipei, playing as if it had nothing to lose, came out fighting and caught the United States off guard. The score went back and forth for most of the first period and with 2:26 to go Alana Beard (Washington Mystics) netted a three, which she followed by a steal and a layup, to kick-off a 9-2 run that had the U.S. in the lead 29-22. However, Chinese Taipei got a basket with time winding down and the first period closed at 29-24.

"I really thought we were going to start the game better than that," said USA and Seattle Storm head coach Anne Donovan. "I didn't think we'd take them for granted. But I think our approach was that we were going to walk out of here with the win. I'll take some of that on myself, in terms of being mentally prepared for this game. With a lot of the younger players we have on this team, we had to work hard at it. I'm really disappointed with how we approached this one."

The Americans were unable to shake the Taiwanese and with 7:42 remaining before the break the score was locked at 31-apiece. Parker hit the front end of a free throw at 6:56 to give the United States a one-point edge, and the lead never again changed hands. Getting a defensive stop. Parker fed Thompson inside at 6:38 and them came up with a steal that she passed this time to Swin Cash (Detroit Shock) for two. Continuing the defensive pressure, that Parker free throw was the first point in 23-7 run that saw Thompson score all 11 of her second quarter points during that time. By halftime The USA's lead was 54-38, with Thompson contributing the lion's share of points (24) in 14 minutes.

Parker scored the first four points after the midway point as the USA's lead ballooned to 20 points, 58-38, where it hovered until the closing minute of the third period as the U.S. closed the third with its widest margin thus far, 76-53. The American women went up by as many as 26 points twice before sailing in for the win.

Thompson, who also grabbed seven rebounds, and Parker, who also passed off for a team-best five assists, were not the only two with strong performances. Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx) scored 12 points and nabbed seven rebounds, Jessica Davenport (Ohio State / Columbus, Ohio) scored 10 points to go with her six boards, and both Beard and Cash topped out at nine points each. Beard was credited for a game-high five steals.

"I didn't even realize she had so many in the first half," said Augustus. "It was so smooth. She just played within her game, that's what she does every night, but it was more points in a small period of time."

The United States more than doubled Chinese Taipei's rebounding output with a 54-25 advantage on the glass.

Sylvia Fowles (Louisiana State / Miami, Fla.) suffered a dislocated right shoulder in the USA's April 8 contest against Australia and will not compete in the remainder of the Opals World Challenge.

Candace Parker, Tennessee / Naperville, Ill.

You seem to be getting comfortable out there, playing at the senior level. Is that the case?
I'm just trying to follow the lead of the veterans and watch what they're doing, then go out there and just play my game.

Did you expect Chinese Taipei to come out like that?
We're USA, we're going to get everybody's best. They didn't quit, they kept playing hard. That's what most teams are going to do and that's what we should expect from them.

What do you need to do against Australia tomorrow night?
We need to continue to move forward. Every game we've gotten better. In this past game we kind of took a step back, but we've improved in a lot of areas. We're not fouling as much and defensively, help side, I think we're getting better. Putting all that together in one game, we've done bits and pieces of things in each game, but we haven't had a complete game yet.

How important will it be to walk out here strong tomorrow?
I think it's very important, like coach said, to let the world know that in the USA we're serious about basketball. We need to put our best foot forward.