Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus UCLA on March 29, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 70
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Final
Women's Basketball
58
vs UCLA
70
USA Pan Am Team Advances With 93-78 Victory Over Argentina
8/5/2003 1:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Aug. 5, 2003
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (August 4, 2003) - Balanced scoring, an effective inside-out game and free throw shooting helped the USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games team (3-1) to its third consecutive victory with a foul-filled 93-78 win over Argentina (1-3) at the J.P. Duarte Center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Tuesday afternoon.
Demonstrating balanced scoring, five Americans scored in double figures, led by Rebekkah Brunson (Georgetown / Oxon Hill, Md.) and Loree Moore (Tennessee / Harbor City, Calif.) with 12 each, followed by Jamie Carey (Texas / Thornton, Colo.), Roneeka Hodges (Florida State / New Orleans, La.) and Laurie Koehn (Kansas State / Hesston, Kan.), who scored 11 apiece. Moore and Nicole Powell (Stanford / Phoenix, Ariz.) led the USA with six rebounds each.
The win assured the USA a berth in the medal round, which will be comprised of the four top teams in the standings after Wednesday's final games in round-robin play among the six participating countries. Semifinals will be played Friday, Aug. 8 at 5:00 p.m. (all times EDT) and 7:00 p.m. The medal games will be held Saturday, Aug. 9, with the bronze medal game scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and the gold medal game at 5:00 p.m.
"I thought we didn't handle the pressure well in the first half, the physical part of the game," said USA and University of Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan. "We put together a series of scores and stops and tightened it up in the second half. We are a lot more comfortable as a team now. Everyone seems more in rhythm. We've gotten better defensively each game."
After a rebound basket by Janel McCarville (Minnesota / Stevens Point, Wis.) made the score 27-20 with 7:36 left in the half, Argentina fashioned a 13-2 run to go in front 33-29 on a Laura Nicolini shot from the right wing with 2:31 left. The USA regained the lead with free throws from Hodges and a 3-pointer from Koehn, but Argentina answered with baskets on either end of a Powell free throw to take a 39-37 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The USA took control of the game in the third quarter, opening with an 11-4 run to take a 48-43 lead on Carey's 3-pointer from the left side with 6:29 left in the period. The USA then used an effective inside-out game to reel off nine unanswered points, capped by a Carey 3-pointer from NBA range, to push its advantage to 57-43 with 2:36 showing.
Leading 67-52 after the third period, the North Americans never allowed the Argentines to get closer than 11 points the remainder of the game, which disintegrated into a parade of fouls and free throws in the fourth quarter. Thirty-one of the game's 55 personal fouls were called in the second half, with 18 of those in the fourth quarter alone, and a total of five players fouled out of the game. Argentina scored 16 of its 31 second half points from the free throw line, while the USA's last 10 points came from the stripe.
"Our shooting is really clicking right now, or at least it seems that way," said Carey. "When we start inside and go out, it helps drastically, like it did today. We're learning to play together offensively and starting to put some points up."
The USA will conclude round-robin play Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m. against the host Dominican Republic, which was winless in three games going into a contest against Brazil Tuesday afternoon. At 3-0 before Tuesday's games, Cuba also has locked up a spot in the medal round. The other three spots would be decided between Brazil, Canada and Argentina, with the latter two meeting Wednesday in a game that could decide which will be the fourth team into the medal round.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES & USA TEAM NOTES
Debbie Ryan, head coach, University of Virginia
"We tried to establish the inside first, and when the defense collapsed we had to find the open shooters with the extra pass. We did that in the second half."
Roneeka Hodges (Florida State) On her role on this team:
"I'm a defender first, but whatever is needed I will step up and do."
Loree Moore (Tennessee)
"We've had someone else step up every game. Defensively today we had to take away passing lanes and get some possessions. Once we started hitting our shots inside, the offense really clicked."
Jamie Carey (Texas) On what it will take to advance to the gold medal game:
"Defense is the key to getting to the gold medal game, getting stops and being solid on the defensive end. Our rebounding has to be there."
USA vs. Argentina
The USA is now 3-0 against Argentina in Pan American Games competition. The first meeting was in Havana in 1991, a 97-40 USA win on the way to a 4-2 record and a bronze medal for the Americans. In 1999, USA and Argentina met in Winnipeg, with USA coming out on top 63-55.
Hammer Time
As the game between the USA and Argentina progressed, it turned into a succession of fouls and free throws. A total of five players fouled out, including the USA's Jamie Carey (Texas / Thornton, Colo.) and Barbara Turner (Connecticut / Cleveland, Ohio). The parade to the bench started with 4:58 left in the fourth quarter when Argentina's Laura Palabella picked up her fifth foul. Carey followed at 4:17, then Maria Fernandez joined her Argentine teammates at 2:37. Turner went to the sidelines with 20 seconds remaining, and Argentina's Natalia Rios ended her game at the 0:05 mark. The USA was whistled for 29 personal fouls, Argentina 26.
Home Sweet Stripe
With all the whistles come lots of trips to the free throw line, and this game was no exception. The USA went to the line 31 times and made it count for 24 points, a sparkling 77.4 percent, led by a 4-of-4 performance by Ann Strother (Connecticut / Castle Rock, Colo.). Argentina was permitted 43 free throws, making 30 for a 69.7 percent success rate. The Argentines took only four shots less from the line than they did from the field.
All-Windex Team
The USA won the battle of the boards in overwhelming fashion, 39-17. In fact, the USA's total on the offensive end (17) tied Argentina's production on BOTH ends of the floor, while the North Americans' 22 defensive boards surpassed the Argentine output. Loree Moore (Tennessee / Harbor City, Calif.) and Nicole Powell (Stanford / Phoenix, Ariz.) shared team honors with six boards apiece, with Powell snaring hers in only 16 minutes of play. Three other Americans had four boards apiece: Jenni Benningfield (Vanderbilt / Louisville, Ky.), Brunson and Turner.
Crankin' Up the D
The defensive intensity of the USA team is showing up in several different ways. One is the number of steals. After a productive game against Brazil, the USA posted 17 steals (three players had three each) against Argentina, which committed 21 turnovers. Another good gauge of defensive intensity is the number of shot clock violations the opponents have. Argentina was hit with three Tuesday, one less than the USA squeezed out of Brazil on Monday. The USA got one violation out of Cuba in the tournament opener, while Canada was able to beat the clock against the USA.
Tuesday, March 31
Tuesday, March 31
Tuesday, March 31
Tuesday, March 31
