(Photo by Hugh Carey)
Women's basketball pulverizes Chinese TaipeiAmericans run away with 96-14 victory in first gameby Shannon Bertling on September 6, 2009 Although evenly matched with nine players per team, the Chinese Taipei and U.S. Women's basketball teams presented a striking difference from the start of their game Sunday at Taipei Gymnasium in Taipei, Taiwan. The first half of the game saw a lot of action from the American side, so that by the end of the first quarter, there was no doubt as to who would win the game. The only question would be the point margin. Taipei managed to nab the first possession of the game, but quickly lost the ball to the U.S. Only 15 seconds into the game, post player Victoria Crockett made the first two points. Another 15 seconds later, guard Abby Moose stole the ball and dished it to Jennifer Decuir, who made the second basket of the game. The next minute allowed Decuir time to make a block, net a three-pointer, steal the ball and pass it to Crockett for her second basket. The Taipei players shouted at each other as they struggled to pass the ball, and they found it difficult to penetrate the Americans’ defense. After three minutes of hard playing, Taipei managed to make its first basket and upped the score to 12-2. They also were able to take advantage of a foul by guard Nicole Lanning to make the score 18-4 halfway through the first quarter. Taipei had opportunities to shoot and score, but weren't able to get the ball through the basket. The U.S. was quick to get back to defense and, thanks to a height advantage, out-rebounded Taipei on both sides of the court. At the end of the first quarter, the score stood at 28-4, and it was not until almost halfway through the second quarter that Taipei made their next basket, a three pointer by C. Kuo. Kuo, though far from being a composed player, turned out to be the star for Taipei, making five points per half for a total of 10 points out of the final 14 points posted by her team. Teammate W. Hsu was the better ball handler, but despite many attempts at scoring, she missed all her shots. By the end of the first half, the score was 56-9, but this blowout in no way dampened the spirits of the very involved crowd. The gym was packed with Taiwanese fans who cheered at every shot attempt and groaned with the Taipei players at every miss. The U.S. team had its own fans, including a Taiwanese school —Yuda University —and scattered Americans visiting from the States cheering for them. The second half was comparatively slower, since it took the U.S. a full four minutes to make its next basket against Taipei's 2-3 zone defense scheme. Still, with four guards and one post player on the floor, the Americans steadily added to the score and deterred Taipei from making double digits until late in the third quarter, when Kuo took advantage of a free throw and netted one for Taipei. The score was 72-12 by the end of the third quarter, and Taipei did not make another basket until one minute to go in the fourth. At the end of the game, Moose led her team with 23 points, Crockett 19, and Decuir 13. The final score was 96-14. Rather than ruminate on the opening game against Taipei, the U.S, women's team is looking forward to upcoming games. "China's good and fast, but they're not much of a shooting team," Lanning said. "And Greece has got momentum. We'll have to watch out for them, because they're smart and solid players." The women play China at 1 p.m. Monday. |
 (Photo by Hugh Carey)
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