Olympic basketball: US women rout China, 114-66

By K.C. JOHNSON Chicago Tribune

LONDON -- The U.S. women's basketball team absolutely destroyed China 114-66 Sunday afternoon at Basketball Arena, closing pool play unbeaten in five games and setting team records while doing so.

"This is my 100th (soda)," deadpanned U.S. coach Geno Auriemma. "That's a record for me."

In winning its 38th straight Olympic game, the U.S. tied a 20-year mark for most points, sank 52 field goals to better by five a 16-year record and distributed 33 assists to smash the 16-year standard of 30.

For good measure, Angel McCoughtry's 8-for-8 shooting off the bench eclipsed Lisa Leslie's 7-for-7 mark for perfection set at the 2008 Beijing Games.

And all this might not be the scariest part for opponents as the U.S. enters Tuesday's quarterfinals against Canada. No, that might be that the U.S. remains edgy, and that Diana Taurasi has marching orders.

"When I'm open, I have strict orders to shoot," Taurasi said. "So I'm just going along with orders."

Taurasi scored 22 points on 10 shots in just under 21 minutes to lead six in double figures as the U.S. shot 63 percent. China, which entered 3-1, hung within 31-28 after the first quarter, making the 83-38 margin over the final three quarters all the more impressive.

Beyond the scoring, the U.S. posted 14 steals, blocked five shots and scored 28 points off turnovers. No wonder several players called it their best performance of this tournament.

"Even in the first quarter when they hung in, we had a better flow," Taurasi said. "We were on the entire game."

Actually, Taurasi wasn't. She sat down the stretch of the blowout with other starters.

"I think Diana understands more than anybody I've been around what the big stage is, when the lights are brightest, when the games mean the most," Auriemma said. "This game was to win our pool. That's when Diana is at her best."

For the second straight game, Auriemma started Maya Moore for Candace Parker, raising a few eyebrows. So be it, said Auriemma, who credited Parker for changing the game in the second quarter with her activity at both ends.

Parker finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists in just over 14 minutes.

"Whoever she is playing against is tired," Auriemma said. "And whoever the other team brings in isn't as good. So she's got a huge advantage in that situation. Maybe she's pissed at me that I'm not starting her and that's why she's playing the way she is. But you know what? I'm OK with that."

This edginess extended to Sue Bird bluntly answering a question about whether the women feel their bid for an unprecedented fifth straight gold is getting a bit overlooked.

"That's a tough one," Bird said. "Women's basketball is still growing and I hope we're part of that growth and help get it to where I think it should be. I do believe if another team was going for a record similar to the one we are, you might hear about it more."

Three more victories, and you'll hear plenty.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/05/2935109/olympic-basketball-us-women-rout.html

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