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Tillis Sparks USA Pan American Team To 56-53 Victory Over Canada
Aug. 3, 2003
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (August 3, 2003) -- Sparked by the aggressive fourth-quarter rebounding of Iciss Tillis (Duke/Tulsa, Okla.) and a double-double by Rebekkah Brunson (Georgetown/Oxon Hill, Md.), the 2003 USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games Team (1-1) recorded its first win of the tournament with an exciting 56-53 win over Canada (0-2) Sunday afternoon.
"Obviously we're pleased to win," said USA head coach Debbie Ryan (University of Virginia). "We feel better, but it's not time to celebrate. We kept telling our team we can't lose intensity in the second half. I thought the key was that we were able to keep the intensity throughout the game defensively."
Brunson carried the stat load with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the USA's first double-double of the tournament. The intensity the U.S. needed came from Tillis, whose aggressive defensive rebound with 8:15 remaining set the tone for the USA during its fourth-quarter comeback.
Canada got seven points from Michelle Hendry during a 12-0 run to surge out to a 15-8 lead in the first quarter. Hendry was the workhorse for the Canadians, jockeying for position to get easy baskets underneath or getting a trip to the free throw line in the attempt. She ended the first period with 12 of Canada's 20 points, converting all four of her charity attempts. She ended with a game-high 21 points before fouling out with 153 remaining.
Nicole Powell (Stanford / Phoenix, Ariz.) opened the scoring in the second period with a free throw and a basket to cut the Canadian lead to one, 20-19. Hendry followed with a three-point play that was answered in kind by Brunson to make the score 23-22 Canada at the 6:23 mark. Canada outscored the USA 6-4 to go to the halftime locker room ahead 29-26.
After a third period that saw both teams virtually match each other basket for basket, Tillis sparked the Americans with her commanding play under the Canadian backboard. A Jenni Benningfield (Vanderbilt / Louisville, Ky.) basket tied the game at 44 with 8:36 left, and then Tillis set the USA tone for the remainder of the game with an aggressive defensive rebound with 8:15 remaining and Tillis' urgency spread through the team.
"I tried to give us a lift in the fourth quarter and was able to get a lot of tips and rebounds, which gave us easy shots," said Tillis. "I knew we needed this win. It gives us confidence."
Canada pushed ahead 47-44 when Dianne Norman hit the front end of a two-shot foul, then Hendry put back the missed second free throw. A nice USA transition basket that began with a Brunson steal and ended in a Tillis layup pulled the USA back within one, but Canada's Kim Smith made one of two free throws at 4:45 to make the score 48-46. Brunson then converted a three-point play by putting back her own miss underneath and sinking the free throw for a 49-48 lead with 4:13 showing.
Tillis then made the second of two free throws at 4:04, only to have Hendry tie the score at 50 with an inside basket at the 3:05 mark. Carolin Bouchard added a 10-footer in the paint at 2:27 for Canada's final lead of the game. Brunson went to the line at 1:53 and hit her first free throw. On her miss of the second, Tillis tipped the ball into an open area of the floor, where a held ball resulted in a USA possession. Powell crashed the offensive boards on the following USA miss, then swung out to the wing to take a pass back from Tillis and launched what proved to be the winning shot, a 3-pointer with 1:27 on the clock.
With 1:09 left Canada's Teresa Kleindienst went to the line and made the first, but missed on her second and Brunson battled hard to get the rebound. Brunson missed at the other end, however, 5'9" guard Loree Moore (Tennessee / Harbor City, Calif.) grabbed the offensive rebound at the free throw line and drove the lane to complete the final bucket of the game with 11 seconds remaining. Canada had an opportunity to tie the game, but Moore stifled it with a game-saving steal in the right corner with eight seconds left.
"I saw my teammate get beat and I jumped to the spot where I thought the ball would be," said Moore of her game clinching steal. "I put my hand out, got a piece of the ball and came away with it. This win gives us more confidence. It was definitely a relief. We're all used to winning in all of our (college) programs, and we expect to win here."
The USA women continue preliminary round play Monday at 11:00 a.m. (EST) facing 2-0 Brazil which defeated Argentina (1-1) 86-43 in the first game Sunday morning. the experienced Brazilian team features four former Olympians and four former WNBA players.
In Sunday's other women's action, Cuba (2-0) rolled over the Dominican Republic (0-2) 82-55.
Ryan is being assisted on the sidelines by Indiana University's Kathi Bennett and University at Albany's (N.Y.) Trina Patterson.
The USA Basketball Pan American Games Team opened its training on July 17. The 2003 Pan American Games women's basketball competition is geing held Aug. 2-9 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
2003 USA Pan American Games Women's Basketball Notes and Quotes
USA vs. Canada, Aug. 3, 2003
USA head coach Debbie Ryan (University of Virginia):
"Obviously we're pleased to win, but we're not totally happy yet. We feel better, but it's not time to celebrate. We kept telling our team we cannot lose intensity in the second half. I thought the key was we were able to keep the intensity throughout the game defensively."
Barbara Turner (Connecticut):
"We definitely lacked some intensity in the first half. The coaches told us to keep going hard and make things happen. I think we were able to do that. I just keep trying to make plays for our team and do whatever needs to be done for us to win."
Iciss Tillis (Duke) on her play against Canada:
"The coaches told me we needed points inside, so I just tried to take the ball on the block and get my shot. I tried to give us a lift in the fourth quarter and was able to get a lot of tips and rebounds, which gave us easy shots. I knew we needed this win. It gives us confidence. We've sort of been down (since the string of four consecutive losses to Cuba)."
On the team's emphasis against Canada:
"Yesterday our main focus was shooting threes (shot 27). Today our goal was to get the ball into the paint below the free throw line. We did a much better job. The team is definitely bonding and learning to trust each other, and that helped get us a win today in a very tight game."
Loree Moore (Tennessee) on her steal with eight seconds left:
"I saw my teammate get beat and I jumped to the spot where I thought the ball would be. I put my hand out, got a piece of the ball and came away with it. This win gives us more confidence. It was definitely a relief. We're all used to winning in all of our (college) programs, and we expect to win here."
On her play:
"I try to do whatever is needed for our team. I'm known as a defensive stopper. That's what I'm trying to do here."
USA Team Notes
Clean Slate Against Canada
With the 56-53 win, the United States kept its Pan American Games record against Canada unblemished, winning all 16 meetings between the two countries. Only one other game had a closer margin of victory: a 43-42 USA win against the home-standing Canadians in Winnipeg in 1967. The USA went on to claim the silver medal in that tournament with a 6-2 record.
Charity Was Critical
A key to the USA victory could be found in the free throw column on the stat sheet. The Americans attempted 24 free throws and converted 19 of them, a stellar 79 percent. On the other hand, Canada made only 9 of its 19 chances, an anemic 49 percent, accounting for a 10-point swing between the teams. In the second half, the USA was 9-of-11 from the stripe (81.8 percent) while Canada was 3-of-6 (50 percent).
Getting Defensive
Sparking the USA win over Canada was some good old-fashioned blue-collar work on the defensive end of the floor. While the steal by Loree Moore (Tennessee / Harbor City, Calif.) with eight seconds left proved to be the most important, it was only one of the five that she logged in the game. Iciss Tillis (Duke / Tulsa, Okla.) complemented her rebounding with five steals as well, and Rebekkah Brunson (Georgetown / Oxon Hill, Md.) blocked three shots to help stifle Canadian scoring threats in the paint.
Next Up
The Americans face Brazil on Monday. Team USA is 12-6 against Brazil in Pan American Games competition. The two teams have split the last four meetings, the most recent an 85-59 USA win to claim the bronze medal in Winnipeg in 1999. Brazil has faced the USA more than any other Pan American opponent (18 times) and has the most wins over the Americans with six (the only other Pan American country to defeat the USA is Cuba, which has won five times after Saturday's 84-62 Cuban victory).
