Weng’an, China – The NetScouts Basketball USA All-Stars wrapped up the Atlas Youth International Tour in China by beating the Chinese team 71-63 in front of a sold out, energized crowd.
The USA got off to a poor start for the second straight game, struggling to find a rhythm on offense – and finding themselves in a 13-3 hole halfway through the first quarter. Jamee Swan would then score six straight points in less than a minute – two fast break layups on a steal and a rebound power out, along with a tough turn-around jumper – to get the USA back in it. The Colorado grad would finish with 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting and tournament-high 17 rebounds. The USA All-Stars would gain a short lead, but China would take a two point lead into halftime.
The rest of the game was fully in the Americans control, as the team forced China into tough shots and absolutely dominated the boards in the second half. The USA All-Stars outrebounded China 66-38 and finished with a whopping 33 offensive boards. The USA quickly ran out to a seven point lead and would protect it the rest of the night, although China cut it to three on several of occasions.
Moriah Faulk hit some clutch shots down the stretch and kept her teammates involved all night, dishing out five assists. The end of the third quarter had the USA All-Stars up 48-41, and then they outscored China by one point in a back-and-forth fourth quarter resulting in the final eight-point victory. The Americans got fantastic production from the posts once again. In addition to Jamee Swan’s effort, Toni Smith finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds while Morgan Bailey also reached double-figures in rebounds with 11.
The USA All-Stars won the game despite shooting only 1-of-19 from long distance. Their huge +28-rebound advantage, including +26 on the offensive boards proved to be the deciding factor in the game. The team will head home to the USA tomorrow after a perfect 9-0 record on the tour.
NetScouts Basketball USA All-Stars
Ariana Elegado (Cal Poly) 0 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Zhane Dikes (San Francisco) 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Tear’a Laudermill (Nebraska/Finland) 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals
Brittany Shine (Florida/Cal) 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Moriah Faulk (UCLA/Fresno State) 9 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Taylor Proctor (San Francisco) 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Toni Smith (Fresno State) 17 points, 13 rebounds
Morgan Bailey (BYU/Portugal) 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists
Jamee Swan (Colorado) 14 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
Jordan Sullivan (Montana/Denmark) 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Media inquiries can be directed to Carl Berman at carl@netscoutsbasketball.com.
Information on NetScouts Basketball can be obtained here. Detailed articles on the tour will be found on the NetScouts Basketball Blog. Email carl@netscoutbasketball.com to get on the mailing list for tour related articles, information and photos
Carl, Thanks for the game recaps. We posted all of them them on our Fresno State Hoop Club fan support Facebook website. We’re very proud of our players as well as all their team mates. Geat effort to come together quickly as a team. Also a great opportunity for them to experience international travel and exposure to that style of play and officiating.
Bring our Dogs home safe and sound, but first celebrate the team’s success!
Judy Nast