Team USA Routs Senegal

Former UConn star Morgan Tuck (45) drives to the
hoop in Sunday's game vs. Senegal. Tuck currently
plays for the Connecticut Sun.

ANTIBES, FRANCE—Recording 35 assists and shooting a scorching 62.1 percent (41-for-66 from

the floor), the 2018 USA Basketball Women’s National Team easily defeated Senegal 109-58 in exhibition play on Sunday afternoon.

The USA lead from start to finish, limiting Senegal to an icy 28.0 percent from the field on 21-for-75 shooting. Team USA played a remarkable steady game, scoring 20 points or more in each period while holding its out-manned (or, more precisely, “out-womanned”) opponents below 20 in each. In addition, the USA out-rebounded Senegal by a resounding 54-to-31 margin.

“I was pretty pleased with three of the four quarters, in which we played pretty good on both sides of the ball,” said USA head coach Dawn Staley, whose day job is head coach at South Carolina. Indeed, Staley, who will coach Team USA at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, succeeded UConn head coach Geno Auriemma on the Team USA bench. “There are some things we do have to clean up, some ill-advised shots, some turnovers, all contributed to not having one of our better quarters in the third quarter," she continued. “Overall, everybody came in and gave some great contributions. And, above all, we got better.”

A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) led Team USA with 22 points. Former UConn and current Connecticut Sun star Morgan Tuck added 15 points. Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces) contributed 12 points and nine assists; Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury) scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds; and Tiffany Mitchell (Indiana Fever) finished with 10 points. 

Additionally, two more players with strong Connecticut ties—Napheesa Collier of UConn and Layshia Clarendon of the Connecticut Sun made significant contributions to the U.S. victory. Collier dished out nine assists and grabbed eight rebounds, while Clarendon dished out five assists and collected eight rebounds. Overall, 64 of the USA’s points were scored by players coming off the bench.

“I would have to go off of what coach said—we executed pretty well except for the third quarter,” said Wilson, the former South Carolina star and WNBA Rookie of the Year. “We gave them some open shots. Turnovers were a huge thing—that’s something that we don’t need. Other than that, we executed. The pace was where we need it to be. We are slowly starting to get chemistry together.”  

Four different starters scored to start the game off for the USA, which jumped ahead 8-0 just a few minutes into the contest. Adding points from four more U.S. athletes, the USA led 27-13 after the first period.

By the end of the second quarter 10 of 11 U.S. team members had registered points, and the USA outscored Senegal 29-14 in the period to lead 56-27 at halftime.

“That is when basketball I think is the best to play, when you are moving the ball and everyone is involved and everyone is touching it and you feel good,” Clarendon said. “It really started on the defensive end, because we got stops and then we could get the ball and get out and run and get the ball moving, and then you get the easy buckets.” 

All 11 U.S. players had scored with 1:54 to play in the third quarter, when Elizabeth Williams (Atlanta Dream) put points on the board, but the USA also recorded seven of its 15 turnovers in the third period and only outscored Senegal by five points, 20-15, and the advantage was 76-42 headed into the final 10 minutes.

The fourth quarter was the USA’s best offensive output, tallying 33 points, including 12 from Wilson, to Senegal’s 16 to earn the 109-58 win.

The 2018 FIBA World Cup in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, begins for the USA against Senegal at 1 p.m. EDT on Sept. 22, followed by China at 1 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23 and Latvia at 1 p.m. on Sept. 25.  After each team plays three preliminary round games, the second and third place teams from each of the four preliminary round groups will compete in the quarterfinal qualification games on Sept. 26, while the No. 1 teams from each group will advance directly to the Sept. 28 quarterfinals. The semifinals will be played on Sept. 29 and the finals on Sept. 30.

Team USA will be in the hunt for its third-straight FIBA World Cup gold – a feat it has never before accomplished. 

Including four athletes who have not yet joined the USA in Europe due to competing in the WNBA Finals, the USA roster currently stands at 16 athletes. The official, 12-member roster will be announced prior to Sept. 22. One might expect Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart, both former UConn stars and members of the WNBA champion Seattle Storm, to be slam dunks for the final roster.

The USA assistant coaches are former UConn star and current George Washington University coach Jennifer Rizzotti (who previously coached at the University of Hartford), Cheryl Reeve of the Minnesota Lynx, and Dan Hughes, who after leading the Seattle Storm to a WNBA title, will join the team in Spain.

—Staff Reports