UDINE, Italy (July 28, 2017) – Texas A&M incoming freshman Chennedy Carter (Mansfield, Texas) had a team-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-2 from 3-point, helping the 2017 USA Women's U19 World Cup Team (5-0) knocked off France (3-2) 78-51 in the FIBA U19 World Cup quarterfinals on Friday night in Udine, Italy. The win advances the USA to its ninth-straight U19 medal semifinal game, where it will face Japan (5-0) on July 29 (2 p.m.).
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Also advancing to the medal semifinals were two additional undefeated teams - Canada (5-0) and Russia (5-0), who will clash in the other semifinal contest. The gold and bronze medal games are slated for July 30.Â
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"Coach just told us to keep playing and keep making the extra pass," said Carter. "We all, kind of, started off a bit slow in the beginning. Coach just told us to keep our heads and keep playing, and then let's build a big lead coming out of the second half and try to start off better."
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Four U.S. athletes finished in double-digit scoring, including Carter. Joyner Holmes (Texas/Cedar Hill, Texas) scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, Tyasha Harris (South Carolina/Noblesville, Ind.) notched 12 points and dished out a team-high six assists, and Bella Alarie (Princeton/Bethesda, Md.) chipped in 11 points to go with five boards.
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The USA's defense also held France to a paltry 16.7 percent (2-12 3pt FGs) from beyond the arc, and the Americans outrebounded the Europeans 46-35.
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"The struggles that we could have anticipated happened offensively tonight, because they are very physical and they disrupt what you are trying to run offensively," said USA U19 and University of Pittsburgh head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio. "So, we got off to a very slow start, but then I thought, as the game went along, we got more comfortable defending their sets and the pace of the game. Joyner (Holmes) was great energy off the bench - just her presence, she was instant offense and defensively, she looked to hedge on-ball screens. Chennedy Carter in the second half was difference maker, especially offensively. But, 'Sug' (Alecia Sutton) set the tone defensively for this team, because she had the task of guarding Tima Pouye. She was chasing hard off of screens and was working so hard, and that became contagious for our team. We just needed to settle down and find ways to score throughout the course of the game."
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At the end of a first quarter that featured three lead changes and two knotted scores, the USA closed the first stanza on a 5-0 run to draw even with France, 18-18.
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Opening the second quarter on a 6-0 spurt, five of which came from Holmes, the U.S. moved ahead 24-18 at 5:52. France scored the next four points, but the Americans again scored six-consecutive points - a jumper from Sutton, a 3 from Alarie and a Harris free throw to end the first half with the score 30-22.
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Alarie hit two quick buckets coming out of the locker room, but France outscored the USA 13-6 over the next few minutes, and with 5:31 to play in the third quarter, the USA's lead was five points, 40-35.
France would get no closer.
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Alecia Sutton (Texas/St. Louis, Mo.) hit a 3-pointer, followed by a put-back after a French turnover, to spark a 14-1 U.S. spurt that also featured seven points from Carter and two from Holmes and distanced the Americans from the Europeans 54-36 with 11:37 left in the game.
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"At first, we started off slow on defense, but after the half, we picked it up a little," said Sutton, who finished with seven points. "I came out with energy, and I wanted to bring energy for the team. We had been coming out slow after halftime, so I tried to tell them we needed to bring more energy and just pick it up on defense."
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Heading into the final period with a 15-point cushion, 55-40, the USA continued to pull away, and after a French 3-pointer closed the gap to 67-49, the red, white and blue capped the night with an 11-2 run to close with the 78-51 victory.
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France's leading scorer heading into tonight's contest, Marie-Paule Foppossi, who averaged 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in her first four games, was held to seven points and two boards.
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The team went on a big 14-1 run in the third quarter. How'd that come about?
We all were just playing as a team. Coach was calling a lot of plays and my teammates helped me get open. We made the extra pass and finished on the offensive end, and then we played great defense at the other end.
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What was said at halftime?
Coach just told us to keep playing and keep making the extra pass. We all, kind of, started off a bit slow in the beginning. Coach just told us to keep our heads and keep playing, and then let's build a big lead coming out of the second half and try to start off better.
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What's the outlook on Japan in the semifinals tomorrow?
We are going to focus on the defensive end. We know this team moves a lot, both on offense and defense. We will have to come out and execute plays and just be smart on both ends of the floor, and then just stick with coach's game plan.
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Also advancing to the medal semifinals were two additional undefeated teams - Canada (5-0) and Russia (5-0), who will clash in the other semifinal contest. The gold and bronze medal games are slated for July 30.Â
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"Coach just told us to keep playing and keep making the extra pass," said Carter. "We all, kind of, started off a bit slow in the beginning. Coach just told us to keep our heads and keep playing, and then let's build a big lead coming out of the second half and try to start off better."
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Four U.S. athletes finished in double-digit scoring, including Carter. Joyner Holmes (Texas/Cedar Hill, Texas) scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, Tyasha Harris (South Carolina/Noblesville, Ind.) notched 12 points and dished out a team-high six assists, and Bella Alarie (Princeton/Bethesda, Md.) chipped in 11 points to go with five boards.
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The USA's defense also held France to a paltry 16.7 percent (2-12 3pt FGs) from beyond the arc, and the Americans outrebounded the Europeans 46-35.
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"The struggles that we could have anticipated happened offensively tonight, because they are very physical and they disrupt what you are trying to run offensively," said USA U19 and University of Pittsburgh head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio. "So, we got off to a very slow start, but then I thought, as the game went along, we got more comfortable defending their sets and the pace of the game. Joyner (Holmes) was great energy off the bench - just her presence, she was instant offense and defensively, she looked to hedge on-ball screens. Chennedy Carter in the second half was difference maker, especially offensively. But, 'Sug' (Alecia Sutton) set the tone defensively for this team, because she had the task of guarding Tima Pouye. She was chasing hard off of screens and was working so hard, and that became contagious for our team. We just needed to settle down and find ways to score throughout the course of the game."
Â
At the end of a first quarter that featured three lead changes and two knotted scores, the USA closed the first stanza on a 5-0 run to draw even with France, 18-18.
Â
Opening the second quarter on a 6-0 spurt, five of which came from Holmes, the U.S. moved ahead 24-18 at 5:52. France scored the next four points, but the Americans again scored six-consecutive points - a jumper from Sutton, a 3 from Alarie and a Harris free throw to end the first half with the score 30-22.
Â
Alarie hit two quick buckets coming out of the locker room, but France outscored the USA 13-6 over the next few minutes, and with 5:31 to play in the third quarter, the USA's lead was five points, 40-35.
France would get no closer.
Â
Alecia Sutton (Texas/St. Louis, Mo.) hit a 3-pointer, followed by a put-back after a French turnover, to spark a 14-1 U.S. spurt that also featured seven points from Carter and two from Holmes and distanced the Americans from the Europeans 54-36 with 11:37 left in the game.
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"At first, we started off slow on defense, but after the half, we picked it up a little," said Sutton, who finished with seven points. "I came out with energy, and I wanted to bring energy for the team. We had been coming out slow after halftime, so I tried to tell them we needed to bring more energy and just pick it up on defense."
Â
Heading into the final period with a 15-point cushion, 55-40, the USA continued to pull away, and after a French 3-pointer closed the gap to 67-49, the red, white and blue capped the night with an 11-2 run to close with the 78-51 victory.
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France's leading scorer heading into tonight's contest, Marie-Paule Foppossi, who averaged 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in her first four games, was held to seven points and two boards.
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Postgame Quotes
Chennedy Carter The team went on a big 14-1 run in the third quarter. How'd that come about?
We all were just playing as a team. Coach was calling a lot of plays and my teammates helped me get open. We made the extra pass and finished on the offensive end, and then we played great defense at the other end.
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What was said at halftime?
Coach just told us to keep playing and keep making the extra pass. We all, kind of, started off a bit slow in the beginning. Coach just told us to keep our heads and keep playing, and then let's build a big lead coming out of the second half and try to start off better.
Â
What's the outlook on Japan in the semifinals tomorrow?
We are going to focus on the defensive end. We know this team moves a lot, both on offense and defense. We will have to come out and execute plays and just be smart on both ends of the floor, and then just stick with coach's game plan.