United States bucks slow start, edges Select Team in first exhibition match, 88-84


If there is one simple word to describe the United States women's national basketball team's first exhibition match against the Select Team as part of its preparation for the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics in Brazil, it has to be the word "good."

The Olympic squad coached by Geno Auriemma bucked a slow start and made key baskets and foul shots down the stretch to take an 88-84 win on Monday at the USC's Galen Center.

That's good for the team's build-up towards the Olympic Games, where they are trying to win a sixth consecutive gold medal.

The team trained for only two days prior to the exhibition, but showed character towards the end of the match to come up with a win.

"It was close, and people are going to see the score and wonder what happened. For us, we are focused on the whole process, the whole journey, and this was just the first game," three-time Olympic gold medalist Sue Bird said.

The Select Team did give its comrades a challenge in the first half, leading by as much as 11 points. The Select Team also pushed the Olympic squad to the limit in the final minutes of the match, fighting back from a 13-point hole and even taking a two-point lead before the Rio-bound side scored six straight points to close the game.

"We’ve only had a couple practices together, so it was really good to be challenged in that way by the Select Team," Bird said.

"It really showed what we’re going to need to work on and the level that we have to play at moving forward."

"They played great. They had some young kids that are going to be really good for USA Basketball and just for the WNBA in general," fellow three-time gold medalist Diana Taurasi added. "There’s a lot of talent, which is great for our country."

That's also good assurance for the future of United States women's basketball.

"USA's biggest competition is themselves," WNBA legend and basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie said during NBA TV's live broadcast where she worked as the color analyst.

"They played hard and they were aggressive. When we tried some things and they didn’t work out, they took advantage of them. We really appreciate their competitiveness and think it helped us prep for Rio," Maya Moore said.

Moore and Elena Delle Donne each tallied 11 points while five others added at least eight points for the United States.


The Select Team came out firing to open the game, leading by as much as 19-8 in the first quarter behind seven points from Jewell Loyd -- all from jumpers.

"Jewell is fun to watch. Today was one of those games that you could tell, right from the start, that she was feeling it," Bird said.

"We’ve seen that in Seattle, and you know it’s going to be a long night for the other team. Unfortunately, I was on the other side of that tonight."

Taurasi then answered with seven straight for the United States, followed by a pull-up from Lindsay Whalen which made it only a 19-17 lead for the Select Team.

Later in the second period, Angel McCoughtry scored five straight points including a triple which handed her squad the lead of the night, 30-29. The United States would take control from there, outscoring the Select Team 50-33 overall in the middle quarters to take a 67-55 lead into the final quarter.

A lay-up by McCoughtry in transition made it 73-61, but Natasha Howard then went on a roll, hitting three straight long range shots followed by a basket inside to pull the Select Team within 76-72.

Odyssey Sims converted a lay-up after while Loyd hit another three as the Select Team took a 78-76 lead. Breanna Stewart quickly tied the game with a lay-up, before McCoughtry gave the upper hand back to her team with a fastbreak basket off a steal, 80-78.

Sims knocked down a three to give the lead again to the Select Team, but Stewart answered with a drive on the other end. Stewart did make a crucial mistake, fouling Howard from long range which led to three foul shots made by Howard, but Stewart redeemed herself by scoring again to knot the score at 84 apiece.

Moore sealed the win with four straight free throws as the Select Team failed to hit its final attempts from the field.

"We were trying to accomplish a lot. We were putting different lineups out there on the court, trying different schemes, trying to see what we could do, and the Select Team was very aggressive in terms of those moments when we weren’t completely on the same page," Moore said.

"But we were able to respond and finish the game the right way. Hey, we could have easily lost this game. So I’m glad we were able to come through and build some momentum for the next game."

Howard led the Select Team with 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Loyd had 20 points including 4-for-8 from downtown and seven assists. Sims added 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists.

The Select Team shot an impressive 10-for-25 from three-point range, compared to only 4-for-14 from the Olympic team, and had 22 assists compared to 21 from its opponent.

The United States shall now head to a four-team Showcase from July 27 to 31 where it shall face France, Canada, and Australia. The Showcase will have stops in Connecticut, Delaware, and New York.

Auriemma intends to use the remaining exhibition games to fine-tune the team's chemistry and also to determine their identity as a group.

"These next three games – of course it’s important to win. I’m not one of these that this game or that game doesn’t mean anything," he said.

"Any time they’re keeping score it means something. We really want to win the next three games, but at the same time, we need to find out before we get on that plane to go to Rio, what we have."

"I know who we have. I know what they look like; I know their names. But we’ve got to find out what we have. What can we count on? What’s going to be our strength? What are the things that we’re going to build on that are going to sustain us down there? And that’s what these next three games are going to be all about," Auriemma added.

Quick takeaways

 USA/FIBA Delle Donne might be even better than WNBA Delle Donne

 This Olympics appearance will be one of the few times Delle Donne isn't going to need to play heavy minutes and have a high usage like she does for her WNBA club Chicago Sky. Delle Donne, who missed the 2014 FIBA World Championship roster due to injury, shone in her United States senior women's level debut, scoring 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting in just over 16 minutes. She did much of the same -- pull-ups, three-pointers, drives, and did it with efficiency. With a solid cast surrounding her in the team, Delle Donne is bound to perform very well for the red, white, and blue.

 USA needs to work on its pick and roll defense

Not saying that the United States' pick and roll defense is bad, but the team has to communicate more. Often times, they hedge well, but...

 USA needs to do better against penetrating/scoring guards

 With a lot of penetrating and scoring guards like Loyd and Sims, the team also surrendered drives numerous times. These drives would often lead to jumpers or kick-out passes which disrupt the defense. There will be a handful of guards who play aggressively in the Olympics, like Laia Palau, Kia Nurse, Isil Alben, Penny Taylor, and Celine Dumerc, to name a few. The United States do have the versatility especially in the wing position, so it should not be that difficult.

 Tina Charles may have a difficult time at the four spot

 We all know Charles plays center for the New York Liberty and is more of a traditional five although she has extended her range. In international play, the United States will play against a handful of athletic forwards, so players like Delle Donne, Catchings, and Stewart should step up. Charles, Sylvia Fowles, and Brittney Griner were brought in for ceiling and post presence anyway, and there shall also be big squads in the Olympics. Auriemma did mix it up against the Select Team, even going with small line-ups which had Delle Donne at the center and McCoughtry at the four, or Delle Donne and Stewart surrounded by three guards.

 Everyone did their part for the USA

 Obviously, with a team as great as the United States and a pool of immense talent, it is almost impossible to fit in just 12 players to a final roster. This led to snubs, including Candace Parker whose omission was much-publicized. But Auriemma's current 12 showed the importance of having a well-constructed unit in this game. Everyone did their part. Players like Lindsay Whalen and McCoughtry were aggressive. Bird didn't look like she was included as a legacy pick. Ditto with Catchings. The bigs provided the rebounding and rim protection. Moore and Taurasi, as expected, led the team in scoring. Delle Donne and Stewart, two of the best fours in the world today, also showed a lot in their first game as part of the Olympic team.

For more on the Parker snub, here's a Fan Post I wrote for Swish Appeal earlier this year, right when the final roster was announced.

(For the full boxscore, click here)

All quotes from the USAB website

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