Meier Leads Team USA to Exhibition Win
USA Basketball
LANZAROTE, Canary Islands—Following a week-long training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., and led by 17 points from USA Basketball veteran Morgan Tuck (Connecticut / Bolingbrook, Ill.), the 2013 USA U19 Women’s U19 World Championship Team (1-0) got its first taste of competition in the 2013 Lanzarote International Invitational, earning a 71-66 victory over a tough Australian (0-1) U19 squad. The game was played on Friday night at the Teguise Arena in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. In the night’s second game, Canada (1-0) edged host Spain (0-1) 58-53.
The round-robin tournament continues on Saturday when Australia and Canada square off at 6:00 p.m. (1:00 p.m. EDT) and the U.S. takes on Spain at 8:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. EDT). The USA-Spain contest will be streamed live online for free at http://www.feb.es. The tournament concludes on Sunday with the Americans going up against Canada at 11:00 a.m. (6:00 a.m. EDT) and the Australia-Spain contest tipping at 1:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. EDT).
Tuck scored 15 of her team-high 17 points in the second half, including a steal and layup with 7:23 remaining in the game that pushed the Americans in front for good. Also scoring in double digits for the U.S. were Breanna Stewart (Connecticut / North Syracuse, N.Y.), who notched the game’s only double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Linnae Harper (Whitney Young H.S. / Chicago, Ill.) and USA Basketball newcomer A’ja Wilson (Heathwood Hall H.S / Hopkins, S.C.) chipped in 11 points apiece. Wilson was the USA’s second-leading rebounder with nine caroms.
“To get out of the gates with that type of game and that kind of competition was just amazing for us,” said USA U19 and University of Miami head coach Katie Meier. “That just made us better; we just became a lot better team through the course of one game. It tested our grit to see if we would respond to being down and if we’re going to win a game with our defense. We were losing because of our defense and then we won it because of our defense. We knew the game hinged on that and I thought the kids really battled with pride.”
“I think it was pretty good,” Tuck said about her performance. “I think I can always do better. I definitely can finish a lot better and hit more shots. As far as our team, A’Ja (Wilson) came out really big. She had a lot of offensive rebounds and was just really playing hard. Linnae (Harper) did the same thing. So, I think once everyone starts contributing like that, we’ll be an unstoppable team.”
Australia went up 33-29 at halftime and at the 6:23 mark in the third quarter, held its largest lead of the night, 40-33. Tuck, who scored 11 of the USA’s first 13 points of the second half, continued to help the Americans battle back and her lone 3-pointer of the game at 3:33 pulled the USA to 44-42. But no matter how hard the U.S. tried to retake the lead, Australia countered back and at the third-quarter buzzer the USA was behind 49-45.
That was about to change.
The USA set its defensive pressure loose on Australia for the first time in the game and produced five of the team’s seven steals on the night. The defensive effort ignited its offense into outscoring the Aussies 26-17 in the final stanza for the eventual victory.
Both teams swapped buckets to open the quarter, but Gabby Green (St. Mary’s College H.S. / Oakland, Calif.), standing in front of the U.S. bench, stepped up and swished in a long 2-pointer. Harper followed with a steal and breakaway layup to even the contest at 51-all. In a game that saw 10 lead changes and eight knotted scores, it was the first time since late in the first half that the game was tied.
Australia countered with a jumper, but after the Aussies got the ball back, Tuck got a steal and converted it for two to push the Americans into the lead for good, 56-55, with 7:23 to play.
“When you have more success on defense, you get more confident,” said Meier. “When you get more confident you play more certain. When you’re more certain, you play more aggressively. So, it all sort of steamrolls. It started at the top. It started with Mo (Jefferson) hustling everywhere. It started with Nae Nae (Linnae Harper) being all over the place. Then, we brought Alexis Jones back in with fresh legs and she had a couple moments that really helped us, and then Gabby Green, it was her long two that gave us a big boost.”
Following Tuck’s basket, which jump-started an 8-2 run, Australia called for a timeout. On its next possession, however, Stewart picked an Aussie pocket and found a sprinting Moriah Jefferson (Connecticut / Glenn Heights, Texas) for two of her four points.
“Morgan played great tonight,” said Stewart of her college teammate. “She stepped it up. She definitely helped me out, because I couldn’t get shots to fall. It was a struggle. But, she played really well tonight. That’s the kind of performance we need from her.”
Owning as much as a seven-point lead, 69-62 with 2:25 to play, the U.S. held Australia at bay for the eventual victory.
“In the first and second quarter we were kind of lackadaisical and nonchalant,” said two-time USA Basketball gold medalist Harper. “But when we came out in the third and fourth quarters, we had a sense of urgency. We played with heart. We wanted to win and we did the little things: diving on the floor, getting those steals and finishing, which were things we didn’t do at the beginning of the game.”
