Stewart Leads The Way For USA [usabasketball.com]

From the offices of USA Basketball, here is the summary of USA Basketball’s U18 win over Brazil. Yep, Breanna Stewart can play….

Ten days after the selection of the 2012 USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team and following six training sessions, the U.S. squad downed Brazil 97-36 on Thursday evening in an exhibition contest at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. Breanna Stewart (Cicero-North H.S. / North Syracuse, N.Y.) led five U.S. players in double-digit scoring with 25 points to go with five rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots; while Brittney Sykes  (University H.S. / Newark, N.J.) notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists.

The North Americans, who saw all 11 available players put up points, were further aided by 15 points from Morgan Tuck  (Bolingbrook H.S. / Bolingbrook, Ill.), Bashaara Graves (Clarksville H.S. / Clarksville, Tenn.) scored 14 points and Alexis Prince (Edgewater / Orlando, Fla.) tossed in 10.

“You have to be pleased after an effort like that,” said Katie Meier, USA U18 National Team and University of Miami head coach. “We started 31-0 and our team defense was incredible. It’s a very unselfish team, and they care about what we ask them to care about. We asked them to care about shutting down lanes and not giving up layups, and they did. They swarmed the ball, and they played for each other. It was a lot of fun.

“We’ve had six practices, and to be able play that team defense is impressive. I thought we shared the ball very, very well. Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck set the tone. They are the captains, and they are just doing a great job.”

            The game marked the second of the day’s double-header, the first of which featured the 2012 USA U17 World Championship Team against Brazil. The U.S. U17s defeated Brazil 80-38 in what was originally scheduled to be a game pitting the U17 teams from each country, while the USA U18s were slated to compete against the Brazil U18 squad. Due to travel issues, however, only 12 of the 24 South Americans were able to make it to Florida and one of the 12 suffered an ankle injury earlier in the week. Thus, Brazil’s 11 available players did double duty and competed in back-to-back games.

“It was fun tonight getting out there and playing a game,” said Stewart. “It was official with us in our game jerseys and everything. It was a lot of fun to get into the flow with your teammates. I think we had fun out there tonight.

“Brazil was a little tired because they just played two games, but I thought we ran the court well and we jumped off to a great start,” she added.

Rolling to a 31-0 advantage to open the contest, the U.S., which upped its lead to 51-11 at halftime, was never seriously threatened by the depleted South American squad.  

The USA shot a blistering 53.7 percent (36-67 FGs) from the field and a sizzling 53.3 percent (8-15 3pt FGs) from beyond the arc, while holding Brazil to just 20.0 percent (13-65 FGs) overall and an icy 7.7 percent (1-13 3pt FGs) from 3-point. Owning a 46-44 edge on the glass, the United States dished out 23 assists and forced 22 turnovers.

Isabela Macedo, who played 17 minutes and scored a team-high 11 points against the USA U17s, shot 8-of-10 from the line and finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds in her second game, in addition to four assists and three steals.

Moriah Jefferson (Texas Home Educators Sports Association / Glenn Heights, Texas) was resting a sore left hand and did not compete against Brazil.