Cierra Warren
Shenzhen, China – The NetScouts Basketball Women’s USA All-Stars (6-1) topped Poland (0-7) for the third straight time in a 68-52 win in their first game action in Shenzhen, the final stop on the tour.
The USA gave up 19 points from the free throw line, but in the end they did enough to come out with a victory. The USA All-Stars finish 3-0 versus Poland on the tour. The Americans were definitely a little bit sluggish coming out of the gates after a big win against China in the last city. However, the USA rode solid performances from Cierra Warren (San Diego State – 20 points 11 rebounds) and Deanna Weaver (Boise State -14 points, 12 rebounds) in the win. Warren also swatted away five shots as the USA held Poland to 15 made field goals on just 27 percent shooting. Keani Albanez (Gonzaga) also had a solid night registering 13 points. Rounding out the scoring for the Americans were Alexyz Vaioletama (USC) with nine, Stephanie Lee (Northern Colorado) and Ariel Thomas (Oregon) with five points each and Keena Mays (SMU) with two points. Joy Burke (Arizona State) sat out the contest due to a swollen knee.
Deanna Weaver
The USA had problems with fouling (Poland was 19-of-25 from the charity stripe) and not making foul shots (18-of-30), which would have widened the final margin. Warren was very active in the paint and drew eight fouls. However, they did dominate the boards finishing with a 47-23 rebounding advantage against the overmatched Poles. The USA had a 15-2 edge on the offensive boards. USA guards Thomas (seven rebounds) and Mays (five rebounds) were both active on the boards. Guards Magdalena Zietara registered 14 points and Barbara Skowronek tallied 13 as Poland continued to fight hard until the end. The Poles are still looking for their first victory on the tour.
In the earlier game, Denmark (2-5) fought hard with host China (6-1) but let the game slip away late as they lost 73-55.
The USA All-Stars will try to get their third straight win against Denmark tomorrow night in their final match against the Danes.
Thanks to Assistant Coach Drew Muscatel for his report from China. You can subscribe to our RSS feed from the upper right corner of our home page, follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
Any international players interested in coming to the USA to play in college, prep school or high school can contact us here. We are looking for interns and sales associates. If you’re interested contact us and forward your resume.
