It was also a game of worthiness as 10 of the 12 USA u17 roster did not returned from last year. This is basically a new team with barely a month of preparation where most of the competition in this event have played together over the course of two years. Brazil entered the game with a surprising 1-2 record while the USA came in with a 3-0 mark.
It was back and forth through the first quarter with Brazil taking a 20-18 first quarter lead hitting the offensive boards with nine and despite dazzling shooter Izabela Nicolette going 0-6. Coach Dori Oldaker used two players, Maya Dodson (St. Francis HS, GA) and Abby Prohaska (Lakota West HS, OH) in a rotation on Nicolette (1-11 FGA) and fellow guard (No. 5) Clarissa Carniero (1-5 FGA) to pressure their shots as the USA got back on the boards to lead at the half 38-32.
The game turned quickly at 6:16 left in the 3rd quarter when Dodson blocked a fast break jumper by Nicolette after her steal and Christyn Williams (Central Arkansas Christian, AR) turned that into a basket for 49-38 lead the USA never gave back.
The lead ballooned to 17-point margin (63-47) at the end of the 3rd quarter and the same at games end, 79-62. Christyn Williams led the USA with 19 points and 10 rebounds on 37:45 minutes and point guard Destanni Henderson (Fort Myers HS, FL) added 15 points and seven assists on 33:11 minutes. Olivia Nelson-Ododa (Winder Barrow HS, GA, 11 points) and Aquira DeCosta (St. Mary’s HS, CA) combined for 15 rebounds. Not bad for a squad with minimal prior experience.
NOTES: The USA created 14 fast break points while Brazil had 0. The biggest USA lead was 21 points, 72-51 in the fourth quarter. Brazil turned the ball over only 7 times compared to the USA with 17, a decrease from some pool games stats. Coach Oldaker played her entire squad with 8 of 12 scoring. Brazil shot a shocking 5% (1-20) from the 3-point line with Nicolette going 2 for 18 from the field.
The other Round of 16 games the Czech Republic pulled away from Portugal in the 3rd quarter and beat FIBA Europe rival Portugal 49-31. Both teams finished 1-2 at the u16 Euros last August. Czech plays Australia which won in a walkover since Nigeria failed to show up for the event. The winner of this game plays the USA-France winner. Northern neighbor Canada had an easy time with Mexico 72-37 to advance to play Italy which struggled against a very talented Mali team 58-55. The winner of this game gets the winner of the Spain and China winner in the semifinals. The USA has powerful Australia and Czech in their bottom bracket.
It’s not Barcelona, nor is it Madrid but Zaragoza the main connector city between these two Spanish behemoths both within a short afternoon travel distance by train. One of the most impressive buildings in the city is the train station which has an unconventional look and architectural look to it.
The only issue with today’s Utebo gym where most of the games were player are the acoustics which make every sound 10X louder and the lighting which created havoc with measuring the background distance when shooting.
