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China Takes Gold at Youth Olympics; Australia Nets Silver, Team USA Bronze
By Lee Michaelson
Publisher
The Chinese girls’ basketball team surprised even themselves when they took the gold today at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. China held off an Australian rally to take the championship game, 33-29, as the Aussies settled for silver. Team USA took the bronze with a 34-16 victory over Canada.
“We expected to get into the top eight, but we didn’t expect to claim the title,” said Ma Xueya, China’s top scorer, who finished with 15 points. “We worked hard in each match and we never gave up and I’m very proud of winning a first Youth Olympic Games gold medal.”
The basketball competition in the Youth Olympics, a dream of International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge, is limited to athletes aged 16 to 17 (born between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1994). The basketball games have featured a half-court, three-on-three format, played in two five-minute halves. The game is won by the first team to score 33 points or the one in the lead at the end of regulation, whichever comes first. The format promotes a fast, exciting pace and places less emphasis on depth of talent than the traditional five-on-five, full-court format. At the same time, all three players on the floor at any time must be adept at the game, as there is little opportunity to “hide” a weaker player between one or two stars.
Georgetown’s Williams-Flournoy Named BCA Female Coach of the Year
By Lee Michaelson
Publisher
Georgetown University Women’s Basketball Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy was named Female Coach of the Year by the Black Coaches & Administators (BCA) on Monday after leading the Hoyas to a 26-7 season, the best record in program history.
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| Photo Caption: Terri Williams-Fournoy won this year’s BCA Female Coach of the Year award after leading Georgetown to its best season in program history. |
| Photo Credit: Courtesy Georgetown University Athetics |
Williams-Flournoy will be joined on the dais by Tony Smith, head coach of the girls’ basketball program at Bollingbrook High School, who won the BCA’s High School Coach of the Year award. Smith’s teams at Bollingbrook have been perennial girls’ basketball powers.
Future of Women’s Basketball on Display in WBCA All-America Game
By Lee Michaelson
Publisher
Sixteen of the top high school girls’ players in the nation took center stage at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Saturday evening to entertain a crowd of several thousand coaches and fans at the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) High School All-America Game. The event was part of the Final Four festivities of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament and the WBCA’s annual convention which is being held in San Antonio from April 2 through April 6.
Twenty female high school seniors were named to the WBCA’s All-American teams, which were divided into Red and White squads for the game. Unlike the McDonald’s All-American Game, which divides squads geographically into East and West regions, the WBCA’s All-American Selection Committee endeavors to divide the talent equitably between the two squads in an effort to create teams as evenly balanced as possible, without regard to geography or the players’ current or future schools.
In this case, it appears that the Selection Committee did a great job of choosing the talented teens who were honored as All Americans, but missed the mark in terms of balancing the teams. Though the White Team struck first blood on a free throw (one of a pair) by 6-5 center Karla Gilbert (A&M Consolidated High School, College Station, Texas), the Red Team dominated much of the game from the early going, leading 48-37 at the half and ultimately breezing to a 101-81 win.
But for the players, the honor of being there, plus the intensity of the environment, meant more than who won or who lost.
“It was such an unbelievable honor to be on the Final Four court for the first time and be in the midst of great players and have such high competition, said Stanford-bound Chiney Ogwumike (Cy-Fair High School, Cypress, TX), the White Team MVP, who described herself and fellow All-Americans as “starstruck” at being in the presence of players such as Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Jayne Appel and Kelsey Griffin. Though the prep stars didn’t get much of a chance to interact with the elite collegians, simply passing them in the corridor and knowing they were playing on the same court that would decide the NCAA National Championship this weekend was more than enough, Ogwumike, and Red Team MVP Chelsea Gray (Saint Mary’s High School, Manteca, CA), a Duke signee, agreed.
“It may not have been demonstrated on the score board, but we worked hard and learned a lot by playing through adversity and trying to come back. This game was definitely a memorable experience for me.”
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- Chiney Ogwumike Named McDonald’s All-American Player of the Year
- McDonald’s Player of the Year Finalists Announced
- USA Draws Group A for 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship
- McDonald’s All-American Squads Announced
- Wingate’s Nelson to Head USA Basketball U17 Team
- Sims Named WBCA High School Player of the Year; WBCA High School All Americans Announced
- Full Court High School Top 25: Week of January 27, 2010
- True Confessions - Rating High School Basketball Talent is Far from a Science
- Destiny Williams Leaves Illinois for Baylor
- Brea Olinda Upsets Top-Ranked Mater Dei in Southern California Prep Shoot-Out
- Holiday Tournaments Spotlight Prep Standouts: East
- Versyp, Dunn To Be Honored by Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
- Plenty of Prep Talent on Display at Dunbar Lady Tiger Invitational/ Aspire Elite Classic
- Injuries—At All Levels—Must Be Taken Seriously
- St. Mary’s, Mater Dei to Face Off in Nike Tournament of Champions Final
- Great Match-Ups On Tap as Nike Tournament of Champions Reaches Semifinals
- Nike Tournament of Champions Updates
- Sister Act: St. Anthony Saints Bring Family Atmosphere to the Court
- 2009 Nike Tournament of Champions Kicks Off Friday—No “Gimme” Games Here
- Stanford Snares Nation’s Top Recruit
- LA’s Oldest Fall League for Girls Offers Opportunity to Run, Gun and Have Some Fun
- Full Court Prep: No Lone Star in Texas
- “Peak by Friday” Coaching: Sacrificing Players’ Futures on the Altar of This Week’s Win
- Coaches’ Corner: Rest and Recovery—Making the Most of Your “Get Away” (Part 2)
- Coaches’ Corner: Rest and Recovery—Making the Most of Your “Get Away” (Part I)
- U.S. Wins U16 Gold with 103-52 Win Over Canada; Argentina Takes Bronze over Brazil
- Tours de Force by U.S. Teens Suggests a Dominant Future for U.S. in International Women’s Basketball
- U.S., Canadian Teens Advance to Gold Medal Round of FIBA Americas Women’s U16 Championships
- U.S. Sails Past Puerto Rico, Secures Spot in Women’s U16 Semifinals
