2007 FIBA AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR WOMEN
Valdivia, Chile • Sept. 26-30, 2007
The 2007 USA Basketball Women's FIBA Americas Championship Team, guided by Seattle Storm head coach Anne Donovan, traveled to Valdivia, Chile, with one goal in mind: capturing the gold medal to secure a berth in the 2008 Olympic Games. The goal was achieved with a dominating 5-0 performance that saw the U.S. outscore its opponents by a whopping 40.6 points a game. The potent and well-rounded offense, which was paced by 13.8 ppg. apiece from Tennessee All-American Candace Parker and Tina Thompson, poured in 98.0 ppg., while the USA's defense kept its foes to 57.4 ppg.
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2007 USA RESULTS (5-0)
2007 FIBA AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS
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The USA ran out to an 11-0 run against Jamaica and never looked back en route to an eventual 115-47 win on Sept. 27. The dominating performance saw each team member score at least four points. Seimone Augustus' game-high 19 points on a perfect shooting afternoon (8-8 FGs, 3-3 FTs) led the charge, Thompson followed with 18, Taurasi had 12 and Bird and Kara Lawson chipped in 11 apiece.
Putting away Canada early, the U.S. went on to capture an 85-37 victory in its third and final preliminary round game on Sept. 28. Thompson's 14 points led the squad, while DeLisha Milton-Jones and Parker each chipped in 12 points as the USA led from start to finish.
Meeting Argentina in the medal semifinals on Sept. 29, the North Americans romped to a lopsided 104-53 victory. Rebekkah Brunson came off the bench to score a team-high 20 points as the USA catapulted into the gold medal game. Also aiding in the scoring barrage were Parker with 17 points, Augustus had 15 and Katie Smith notched 11 points.
A double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds from Taurasi highlighted five U.S. scorers in double digits as the team completed its mission of qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics by crushing Cuba 101-71 in the gold medal game on Sept. 30. Also scoring in double digits in helping the U.S. capture the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship gold medal were Thompson with a game-high 18 points, Smith scored 15, Lawson checked in to add 14 and Parker tallied 12 points.
Brazil earned the bronze medal after ripping Argentina 73-41.
With the one and only FIBA Americas Olympic berth going to the gold medalist, Argentina, Brazil and Cuba qualified to compete in the 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
2007 USA WOMEN'S FIBA AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM ROSTER
| NAME |
POS
|
HGT
|
WGT
|
AGE
|
WNBA TEAM | COLLEGE | HOMETOWN |
| Seimone Augustus |
F
|
6-1
|
179
|
23
|
Minnesota Lynx | Louisiana State | Baton Rouge, LA |
| Sue Bird |
G
|
5-9
|
150
|
26
|
Seattle Storm | Connecticut | Syosset, NY |
| Rebekkah Brunson |
F
|
6-2
|
175
|
25
|
Sac. Monarchs | Georgetown | Oxen Hill, MD |
| Swin Cash |
F
|
6-1
|
162
|
28
|
Detroit Shock | Connecticut | McKeesport, PA |
| Kara Lawson |
G
|
5-9
|
165
|
26
|
Sac. Monarchs | Tennessee | Alexandria, VA |
| DeLisha Milton-Jones |
F
|
6-1
|
185
|
33
|
Washington Mystics | Florida | Riceboro, GA |
| Courtney Paris |
C
|
6-3
|
250
|
20
|
N/A | Oklahoma | Piedmont, CA |
| Candace Parker |
F/C/G
|
6-4
|
172
|
21
|
N/A | Tennessee | Naperville, IL |
| Cappie Pondexter |
G
|
5-9
|
160
|
24
|
Phoenix Mercury | Rutgers | Chicago, IL |
| Katie Smith |
G
|
5-11
|
174
|
33
|
Detroit Shock | Ohio State | Logan, OH |
| Diana Taurasi |
G/F
|
6-0
|
172
|
25
|
Phoenix Mercury | Connecticu | Chino, CA |
| Tina Thompson |
F
|
6-2
|
178
|
32
|
Houston Comets | Southern California | Los Angeles, CA |
| Head Coach: Anne Donovan, Seattle Storm | |||||||
| Assistant Coach: Gail Goestenkors, University of Texas | |||||||
| Assistant Coach: Dawn Staley, Temple University | |||||||
| Assistant Coach: Mike Thibault, Connecticut Sun | |||||||
| Team Physician: Dave Weinstein, Colorado Springs, CO | |||||||
| Athletic Trainer: Ed Ryan, Colorado Springs, CO | |||||||
2007 USA WOMEN'S FIBA AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
| NAME | G/S | FGM-A | PCT | 3PM-A | PCT | FTM-A | PCT | REB | PTS | AS | BK | ST |
| Parker | 5/5 | 29-47 | .617 | 0-2 | .000 | 11-16 | .688 | 20/4.0 | 69/13.8 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Thompson | 5/5 | 24-49 | .490 | 4-12 | .333 | 17-18 | .944 | 23/4.6 | 69/13.8 | 10 | 1 | 5 |
| Taurasi | 5/5 | 19-36 | .528 | 9-19 | .474 | 8-9 | .889 | 28/5.6 | 55/11.0 | 17 | 4 | 5 |
| Augustus | 5/0 | 24-42 | .571 | 0-1 | .000 | 5-6 | .833 | 11/2.2 | 53/10.6 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Smith | 5/5 | 19-47 | .404 | 5-16 | .313 | 5-5 | 1.000 | 9/1.8 | 48/9.6 | 15 | 2 | 4 |
| Brunson | 5/0 | 17-23 | .739 | 0-0 | .000 | 11-16 | .688 | 18/3.6 | 45/9.0 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| Lawson | 5/0 | 13-24 | .542 | 8-17 | .471 | 1-1 | 1.000 | 15/3.0 | 35/7.0 | 11 | 0 | 7 |
| Milton-Jones | 5/0 | 15-27 | .556 | 1-4 | .250 | 3-5 | .600 | 23/4.6 | 34/6.8 | 11 | 2 | 3 |
| Cash | 4/0 | 8-17 | .471 | 0-0 | .000 | 11-13 | .846 | 7/1.8 | 27/6.8 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| Bird | 5/5 | 11-22 | .500 | 2-7 | .286 | 4-4 | 1.000 | 19/3.8 | 28/5.6 | 20 | 1 | 10 |
| Pondexter | 5/0 | 4-15 | .267 | 1-4 | .250 | 6-7 | .857 | 7/1.4 | 15/3.0 | 24 | 0 | 6 |
| Paris | 5/0 | 5-10 | .500 | 0-0 | .000 | 2-4 | .500 | 12/2.4 | 12/2.4 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| USA | 5 | 188-359 | .524 | 30-82 | .366 | 84-104 | .808 | 210/42.0 | 490/98.0 | 127 | 19 | 76 |
| OPP. | 5 | 100-299 | .334 | 18-76 | .237 | 69-100 | .690 | 180/36.0 | 287/57.4 | 43 | 4 | 27 |
