USA Basketball World University Games Team Falls to Canada, 68-67
Zuzi Klimesova Helps Lead Czech Republic Team to 105-61 Win over Peru

2001 World University Games Schedule

August 23, 2001

BEIJING, China - The USA Basketball Women's World University Games Team (1-1) fell to Canada (2-0) in the final minutes of Thursday afternoon's preliminary round game. The USA Women conclude World University Games preliminary round play on Saturday, Aug. 25 against Japan (1-1) at 7:00 p.m. (local). The winner will claim second place in preliminary pool B and advance to the medal quarterfinal pools. Vanderbilt's Chantelle Anderson played for 22 minutes and was 4-7 from the field 1-4 from the line and totaled seven rebounds. Ashley McElhiney was 1-1 from the field with one assist in six minutes of play.

"I felt like we were a little sluggish at the start," said USA Basketball Women's World University Games and University of Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan. "We had a good start, I substituted and we lost our momentum and it was very difficult to get it back. We never really got back into a rhythm. We didn't play very good defense today and that was the difference in the game. Yesterday we played great defense, today we were nonexistent and that was really the complete difference in the game.

The USA held the lead for the first eight minutes of the game, going up by as many as seven points at the 5:01 mark. The Canadians hit two consecutive 3-pointers to take their first lead of the game, 16-15, with 2:37 left in the first ten minutes. Two free throws from Jenny Roulier (Colorado / Englewood, Colo.) put the USA back on top by one, but Canada responded with a jumper with 33 seconds left to close out the first quarter with an 18-17 lead. The Americans went on a 5-0 run to start the second quarter; however, Canada rallied back to tie the game at 28 apiece with 2:42 to play in the half. A 3-pointer by Roulier, who finished with 10 points, and a jumper by Chrissy Floyd (Clemson / Laurens, S.C.) sent the USA women into the locker room with a 33-32 advantage over Canada.

The USA squad went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter, reaching their biggest lead of the game, 40-32, with 5:57 on the clock. Canada came back with six unanswered points and eventually tied the score at 48 with 1:42 to play in the third period. The USA held a slight lead over Canada for most of the third quarter, but with 1:09 left in the game, Canada hit a jumper to take their first lead of the second half, 68-67. The USA women could not convert offensively and was forced to foul the Canadians on the other end of the court. Canada missed three free throw opportunities and was caused for a lane violation on the fourth, giving the Americans the ball with 3.3 seconds to go. One final shot attempt by the U.S. was unsuccessful as Canada held on to the 68-67 lead for the win.

"With three seconds to go on the clock, we didn‚t execute well," added Ryan. „We still had a chance to win, but we just missed too many easy shots. Missed shots and defense were the difference."

Ryan is assisted by University of Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder and East Carolina University (N.C.) head coach Dee Stokes.

The 2001 World University Games features 17 teams that have been divided into four preliminary round pools. The United States is in Pool B with Canada, Japan and South Africa. Tournament quarterfinals play gets underway Aug. 27, with semifinals being conducted Aug. 30 and the medal games being held Aug. 31. All times are local Beijing, China time which is 12 hours ahead of EDT.

The World University Games, held every two years and organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), is a multi-sport competition open to men and women between the ages of 17 and 28 (born between Jan. 1, 1973 and Dec. 31, 1983) and who are, or have been within the past year, a student at a college or university. The USA Women have enjoyed outstanding success in the World University Games and have earned 11 medals in 12 appearances, including four golds, six silvers and one bronze medal, and have compiled an overall record of 68-14 (82.9 winning percentage) since beginning World University Games play in 1973. In the last competition, which was held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, the U.S. finished with a 4-2 record and the silver medal. The USA Women last earned the World University Games gold in Sicily in 1997.