USA Wins Thriller, Diamond Ball

If the Olympic gold-medal game is anything like this morning's Australia-U.S. clash for gold in the FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament, we are in for a real treat. Even in what was technically an exhibition game, both teams played to win and the outcome came down to the final minutes as the U.S. women held on for a hard-fought 71-67 victory over the Australian Defence Force Opals to win the Diamond Ball Tournament. Here's FIBA.com's recap as well as one from USABasketball.com.

The USA led in the early going, but the game was tight throughout the second half. With 4:27 to play, two Laura Summerton free throws made it a two-point game at 67-65. From there, the U.S. women clamped down on defense, allowing just one basket over seven possessions the rest of the game. That score by Penny Taylor answered a Lisa Leslie on the bucket end to keep it a two-point game, but Tina Thompson's midrange score made it a two-possession game with 1:09 to play. On the subsequent possession, the U.S. forced the Opals into a shot-clock violation after an errant attempt from downtown by Kristi Harrower. Harrower had the ball stolen with 10 seconds left and that was the game as the U.S. women dribbled out the clock.

"The top level athlete is so competitive, and they have so much pride, that it wouldn’t matter if they were playing for marbles," USA Head Coach Anne Donovan said after the game. "I think they’d go just as hard. This was great to see, and it was great preparation. Absolutely the best preparation we could have going into next week."

Storm point guard Sue Bird played 30 minutes for the U.S., using a legitimate rotation. Bird scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and had only one turnover in that span. The stingy international scorekeeping on assists has limited Bird's numbers in this tournament (she had one today), but Bird has done a terrific job of taking care of the basketball and added two steals. The USA also got strong production from the L.A. Sparks duo of Lisa Leslie (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Candace Parker (12 and eight).

The big thing for the U.S. was defense, as the team held an extremely potent Opals attack to 35.8 percent from the field and forced 18 turnovers. While Taylor scored 19 points and the Storm's Lauren Jackson had 16 on 6-of-13 shooting with eight boards, the rest of the Aussie lineup struggled. Suzy Batkovic, Kristi Harrower and Belinda Snell combined to miss 22 of their 27 shot attempts. The defense has to be a very encouraging sign for Donovan and the U.S.; the gameplan was very similar to how the USA won gold in Athens, something they were unable to repeat in the 2006 World Championships.

"Tonight was a tough one," Bird said. "Australia is a very very good team and we were fortunate to pull it out. We've only had five, six practices together, this was our third game as a unit and we've gotten better every game. That's a good sign. We still have eight more to go but as long as we continue to get better, get after it out there and work towards our talent, I think we'll be okay."

With China claiming Bronze and Russia rallying to finish fifth, the Diamond Ball Tournament wrapped up with awards. Jackson was named Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Touranment team by Bird as well as Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi from the U.S. and China's Sui Feifei.

Australia and U.S. Set to Clash

courtesy USA Basketball

The finale of the Diamond Ball Tournament in preparation for the Olympics will feature a highly-anticipated matchup between the defending Olympic champions (the U.S.) and the reigning World Champions (Australia) after both teams went 2-0 in their contests against teams from their group.

The Diamond Ball Tournament is a great tune-up for the Olympics because it features not only the U.S. and Australia but also 2006 World Championship silver medalist Russia and emerging China, which figures to be tough in the Olympics thanks in no small part to home-court advantage.

The U.S. and the Australia Defence Force Opals each had one matchup against the other competitors and a second game against lesser competition.

Australia drew China in its opener and led by as many as 22 points en route to an 84-70 victory. Lauren Jackson, returning after missing an exhibition against Brazil with a minor ankle injury, led the Opals with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, grabbing four rebounds. Suzy Batkovic and Penny Taylor added 17 apiece for the strong Aussie offense.

Game two for the Opals saw Mali, ranked #31 in the current FIBA rankings, hang right with Australia for a quarter. It was 21-19 Opals at the end of the first period before Australia outscored the outmatched opposition 30-5 in the second quarter. Thereafter, the Opals cruised to a 112-43 victory. Nine players scored at least eight points for Australia, which shot 53.2 percent and had just six turnovers all game. Jackson led the way with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, adding a pair of blocks and steals. Ho hum.

In their opener, the Americans faced Latvia and a red-hot Aneta Jekabsone-Zogota. She scored 24 points as Latvia hung tough throughout the game before the U.S. women ultimately prevailed 84-74. It was a balanced scoring attack for the USA, which got double-figure point production from five players, including the Storm's Sue Bird. In 19 minutes, Bird scored 11 points, dished out a pair of assists and had two steals. Bird had three three-pointers, which was key as the U.S. struggled from downtown, shooting 33.3 percent (4-of-12).

Early this morning Seattle time, the U.S. women squared off with Russia, the team that ended their 50-game winning streak in major international play during the 2006 World Championships. It was also the first matchup for new Russian point guard Becky Hammon against her home country. Surprisingly, it proved a lopsided win for the USA, which led 43-19 at the half and finished with a 35-point victory, 93-58.

Bird had two points and two assists in the game, deferring to backcourt-mate Diana Taurasi, who scored a game-high 21 points. Really, the U.S. won with defense, limiting Russia to 37.1 percent shooting and forcing 26 turnovers - six by Hammon alone. She scored 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting and had only one assist, though she did come up with three steals.

I'm always wary of reading too much into any non-medal matchup with Russia, which has a history of saving its best performances. That goes double for a game that is merely an exhibition contest. However, a 35-point margin of victory is certainly a surprise, and Russian Head Coach Igor Grudin sounded displeased with his team afterwards.

"This game looks like we are not ready," he said. "We have a little bit of time to do something. We will work for that."

As the two undefeated teams on top of their respective three-team groups, the U.S. and Australia face in the championship game of the tournament tomorrow. If I'm understanding the conversion correctly, that game will take place at 4:30 a.m. Pacific time.

USA's Place Entering Olympics?

I agonized over today's column evaluating the U.S. women going into the Beijing Olympics. I first started looking at some of the numbers comparing the USA's performance in the 2006 World Championships to Australia and to the U.S. in the 2004 Athens Olympics last fall, but chose not to use them in my "state of the national team" story. Now that there's so much talk of "what went wrong" for the USA in Brazil and the challenges facing the team going into Beijing, I figured it might be the right time to revisit the numbers.

I've got to say, even I'm not totally sold. One thing I didn't fit into the column was that, as well as the U.S. defended overall in Brazil, its defense did break down against Russia in a way that didn't happen in the semifinals and finals in Athens, when strong defense carried a mediocre U.S. offense against Russia and Australia. Still, I think that offense was more of an issue in that game, and who's to say how things are different if Oxana Rakhmatulina - 4-of-22 from three-point range the rest of the tournament - doesn't hit three triples. That's the kind of thing that can happen in a one-and-done format that isn't necessarily predictive going forward.

So, what do you think? Are the numbers compelling? Is the U.S. the clear favorite? I'm curious what readers think.

National Team News

The news out of Storm camp the last two days has all been about national teams and the upcoming Olympics. Yesterday, Sue Bird was one of nine players named to the U.S. Olympic Team. USABasketball.com has plenty of coverage, including a Q&A with Bird. The site also has some quotes from yesterday's press conference to announce the team, which included Head Coach Anne Donovan.

There are three more players to be chosen for the team, announcements USA Basketball said yesterday are expected by July 1.

"We still have three more players to add to the team," said Renee Brown, chair of the selection committee, in yesterday's release, "and we’re hoping to add a tough defensive stopper on the perimeter who can also score for us, as well as at least another post player."

Storm forward Swin Cash could figure into the mix for those last three spots, having played extensively for the U.S. National Team over the winter and spring. Cash could be that defensive player the committee is looking for, though the first choice for that position is likely to be Tamika Catchings should the Indiana Fever's All-Star forward return from her torn Achilles soon enough to convince USA Basketball she is healthy and ready to go for Beijing.

Today came the news that center Kelly Santos has joined her Brazilian National Team. Why now? Brazil has yet to qualify for the Olympics and will be taking part in the inaugural FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women in Madrid, Spain from June 9-15. The last five spots in the Olympics will be on the line in Madrid, and Brazil has to be considered amongst the favorites in a field that also includes the likes of Cuba, the Czech Republic and Spain.

Morning Reading

Great story this morning in an unusual source for Storm news. The Everett Herald profiles Storm CEO Karen Bryant, who hails from up north in Edmonds. Veteran writer Rich Mhyre looks at Bryant's journey to her current position and a busy off-season on and off the court. Force 10 L.L.C. Chairperson Anne Levinson talks about Bryant's role in the Storm's growth.

"The Storm is a beloved community asset, and that is in no small part due to
Karen," Levinson said. "She understands the game intuitively from having
played it, but she's also got a strong business sense. She's a thoughtful and
caring individual as well as being a top-notch executive, and that comes across
to the people in our organization. the sponsors and businesses with whom we have
relationships, and to the fans."

Another good story today comes from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, which looks at the state of the U.S. Women's Senior National Team heading into this summer's Olympics in Beijing. Here's what Head Coach Anne Donovan has to say.

"We're struggling," Donovan said. "We've never seen this in women's basketball.
Because the rest of the world is catching up, we're going to have to change what
we do in terms of carving out time for training camps."

USA Basketball has yet to name a roster for the Olympics, but Storm players Sue Bird and Swin Cash will almost certainly be on it. Sheryl Swoopes was, at last check, still deciding whether she wants to go for a fourth gold medal.

Saturday Potpourri

First off, you've probably already seen that the Storm made a roster move today, waiving rookie guard Brandie Hoskins. The move didn't really surprise me. While Hoskins is fully recovered from the torn Achilles that kept her out last summer and was able to play overseas, she hasn't yet returned to the kind of shape she was in before the injury. I suspect she'll make a much better run at a roster next spring another year removed from her torn Achilles.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Senior Women's National Team fell to host China in the gold-medal game of the Good Luck Beijing Tournament Saturday. The U.S. trailed by seven, 79-72, with a little less than four minutes to play. They rallied back as close as two, with Storm forward Swin Cash playing a key role in the run. They had a chance to send the game to overtime in the closing seconds, but Lisa Leslie missed a potential tying three at the buzzer and China prevailed 84-81.

Cash had 13 points, four rebounds and three steals, shooting 6-of-10 from the field, as four of the five USA starters scored double-figures. However, China overcame the Americans' interior advantage by shooting 50.3% from the field.

On Friday, the U.S. players had a chance to tour some of the sites around China, including the Great Wall and Tian'anmen Square. Check out the gallery on USA Basketball.com. Courtesy USA Basketball, here's a photo of Cash and her partner, Chafie Fields.



In Russia, Spartak got off to a 1-0 lead in its best-of-three semifinals series with against Vologda-Сhevakata with an easy 100-70 win Saturday. Sue Bird led the way with 16 points, hitting four three-pointers and handing out five assists. Lauren Jackson had 17 points, seven boards and four assists. Spartak will go for the sweep Tuesday.

- Lastly, I wanted to draw everyone's attention to a comment from Jim Quigg, a long-time member of the Storm's practice squad, on a recent entry. Quigg likes what he's seen so far playing against the Storm.

"Hello fellow Storm fans. I'm one of the practice guys. I gotta tell you that you have a lot to be excited about this season. Yo is so strong and such a powerful scorer. KG and Allie shoot the ball VERY well (Katie hit three 3s with me in her face today). A-Rob is a force. Sheryl is incredibly smart, sneaky, and positive. Kristen plays hard, and so do Shyra, Kim and Leah. Brian could throw darts and still have an outstanding team."

U.S. Women to Gold-Medal Game

It's not the gold medal the U.S. Senior Women's National Team has as a goal in 2008, but they will play for gold in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament.

On Thursday, the U.S. defeated host China 86-61. China had been the last undefeated team at 4-0. Both the U.S. and China finished at 4-1 and they will play each other again on Saturday for the gold medal. China was within four at 43-39 early in the second half, but the U.S. women followed with an 11-2 run and were never threatened thereafter.

The U.S. used its advantage in the paint, starting Sylvia Fowles and Lisa Leslie together up front and getting 46 points and 23 rebounds from the two players. Storm forward Swin Cash contributed five points and five boards, making two of her three shot attempts.

"We were just really excited to come into this game today and have the opportunity to play a China team that we know has improved so much over the years," Cash said. "I felt that coming out in the first quarter our team really set the tempo. We were trying to be aggressive and establish our post players."

One downside to the win: Lynx guard Lindsey Harding left early with a strained left knee at the end of the third quarter. Harding is coming back from a torn left ACL, so any trouble with the knee is a bit worrisome.

Here's what I don't get about this tournament. After beating the U.S. in their opener, the Australian Opals lost to China and then were upset by Oceanic rivals New Zealand Thursday to finish round-robin play at 3-2. That's some inconsistency.

ISRAELI FINALS ALL EVEN

Tanisha Wright's Raanana Hertzeliya team fell 86-65 to Elizur Ramla Thursday, tying the Israeli D1 Finals at one game apiece. Both teams have held home court so far in a 1-1-1-1-1 Finals format. Ramla was hot on offense, putting five players in double-figures and shooting 54.2% from the field.

Ramla focused its defensive attention on Wright, who attempted just seven shots. She still had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists but her teammates were unable to take full advantage of the attention paid to Wright.

Game 3 in the series will be played Monday with Raanana playing host. The series will go at least through Game 4 next Thursday.

Media Day is Here

Eight months after the Storm lost to the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of last year's WNBA Playoffs, it's time to get going again. This afternoon's media day will kick off our coverage of Storm training camp. Look for a full-on multimedia assault from storm.wnba.com starting not long after media day wraps up at 4:00 p.m.

I know everybody's anxious to hear more on Ashley Robinson's status, so we'll update that as soon as we see her in camp or don't. (UPDATE: It's official. Robinson will be back with the Storm.)

While we wait for that, let's quickly head overseas.

In Russia, Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson had to work harder in Game 2 but Spartak downed a pesky Kursk Dynamo squad 80-74 to sweep their quarterfinal playoff series and advance to a matchup with either Vologda-Chevakata or BC Moscow in the semifinals. Bird, who has picked up her scoring lately, led Spartak with 15 points and handed out five assists. Jackson added 12 boards. The other series is going to a decisive Game 3 on Tuesday before Superleague action continues with the semifinals.

Katie Gearlds' Athinaikos squad dropped its finale to Paghiakos 79-67 yesterday despite 12 points from Gearlds, but I don't think anything was on the line in that game. Athinaikos had no ability to move up into second place and still won a three-way tie for third in the league at 17-9. There is no playoff play in the Greek League, so Gearlds is headed back to Seattle and should be practicing with the team later this week.

Lastly, let's go to China for more action in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament. On Sunday, the U.S. beat Cuba 92-60. Swin Cash was one of five U.S. players in double-figures in that game, scoring 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and adding five rebounds. Sylvia Fowles paced the USA with 25 points and 18 rebounds (look out, WNBA!).

Early this morning our time, the U.S. got its second straight win by a 92-56 margin over South Korea. Cash, who started her third straight game, had a balanced line of six points, four boards, four assists and two blocks. One-time Storm forward Jung Sun-Min scored 13 points for Korea.

Storm Players Busy All Over the Globe

Apologies in advance for the bad pun, but this weekend is the calm before the Storm, so to speak. Training camp officially begins tomorrow, but that traditionally means a team meeting/dinner before Monday's media day and first practice, which is not open to the media. (Traditionally, the weekend before training camp does not include hail, but I guess all the better for the Storm.)

Still, plenty of Storm players are making news overseas. Let's start in Israel, where Tanisha Wright and Raanana Hertzliya completed a comeback from down 2-0 in their series with Maccabi Ramat Hen to win 3-2 and advance to the Israeli Finals. Wright played passer in Game 5, handing out 12 assists to go with 11 points and five steals in a 98-84 win. Wright's passing was contagious; Raanana had 29 assists on 35 baskets as a team.

In the Finals, Raanana will face Elizur Ramla. Game 1 is Monday. The series could end as soon as April 28 with a sweep. I believe the longest it could go would be the Monday after that, May 5. From the Storm's perspective, let's root for a Raanana sweep.

In Russia, Spartak has opened the Superleague Playoffs, defeating overmatched Kursk Dynamo 96-57 in Game 1 of their best-of-three series. With the outcome in no doubt, Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson played just seven minutes apiece. Jackson had eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in her brief run, while Bird handed out two assists.

Moving east to China, the U.S. Senior Women's National Team dropped its opener in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament, falling 74-60 to Australia. The U.S. led to the final quarter but was outscored 26-10 in the period. Swin Cash had seven points and four rebounds as a starter for the USA, which struggled to find a rhythm from downtown, shooting 2-of-19 on threes. Vets Lisa Leslie (17) and Katie Smith (14) were the only U.S. players to score double-figures. A couple of former Storm players, Tully Bevilaqua and Suzy Batkovic, started for the Opals.

Overseas Update and More 3/26

Lots of recent events to catch up on, so let's not waste any time.

We start in Russia, where the Cup of Russia was contested last week, Superleague teams taking a break from regular-season play. Spartak finished third, defeating Kursk Dynamo 75-62 in the quarterfinals before falling to CSKA Moscow 71-62 in the semis. Spartak rallied to take third by beating Moscow Dynamo 83-70. CSKA Moscow went on to defeat UMMC Ekaterinburg for the championship. Sue Bird was arguably Spartak's most consistent performer, averaging 13.3 points and 5.0 assists in the three games. Lauren Jackson averaged 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds.

Looking ahead, there are less than two weeks and three games remaining in the Superleague regular season, which wraps up April 6. It's April 11, however, that is the big date forthcoming on the Spartak calendar. That's when they'll take on Ekaterinburg in Brno, Czech Republic for the Euroleague Final Four, with the Euroleague championship set for two days later.

Brno is the hometown of Gambrinus Brno, the archrival for Janell Burse's USK Praha squad, and the two teams faced off today in Prague. Despite 20 points and nine rebounds from Burse, who shot 8-of-16 from the field, USK fell 65-58. Teammate Lindsay Whalen shot just 2-of-11 from the field. Brno has won all four head-to-head matchups this season (two during the regular season, two during the current double round-robin playoff-type competition, which involves four teams) - all four defeats USK has suffered in Czech play. Last year, Burse blogged about USK defeating Brno for the first time ever in the club's history. USK has one last game left in the double round-robin, Friday against Karlovy Vary.

In Poland, Shyra Ely's Finepharm AZS KK Jelenia Góra squad fell 70-61 to Cukierki Odra Brzeg today. Ely had 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in the loss. In 10 games since joining the team midseason, she has averaged 10.3 points and 8.9 rebounds.

Katie Gearlds scored 15 points, including three three-pointers, but it wasn't enough as her Athinaikos squad lost 74-66 to Panathinaikos Sunday in a contest that had to be very confusing to broadcast. Gearlds added four rebounds, playing all 40 minutes. With four weeks left in the regular season, Athinaikos is in a three-way tie for third place in the Greek A1 league.

The Italian A1 league last played Saturday, when Doneeka Lewis scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting but her Fiera di Roma Pomezia squad fell 87-62 to Famila Schio. Elsewhere, Adia Barnes had 13 points and Astou Ndiaye-Diatta 12 in Phard Napoli's 73-62 loss to Lavezzini Parma. Next Sunday will be the last weekend of the regular season. At 17-8, Napoli is in fourth place while Fiera di Roma is in 12th.

In Israel, the D1 league is preparing for postseason action. At 16-5, Tanisha Wright's Ranaana Hertzliya won a tie-breaker with Electra Ramat Hasharon for first place and will have home-court advantage in a best-of-three series with Maccabi Ramat Hen. Ranaana Hertzliya will host games next Monday and April 7, with Ramat Hen hosting a game April 10.

Wright finished as the league's leading assister at 6.2 apg, fifth in the league in scoring at 21.5 ppg, second in steals at 3.2 spg and fourth in three-point percentage (46.7%).

Competing the blog we started last week, the U.S. Senior Women's National Team completed its training in Spain Thursday by taking on Spanish side Perfumerías Avenida. The U.S. rallied from a seven-point deficit going into the fourth quarter to force overtime and ultimately prevailed, 69-66, in the extra session. In 13 minutes of action, Storm forward Swin Cash contributed two points and two rebounds.

The NCAA Tournament tipped off over the weekend, and with the Sweet Sixteen set, I hope your bracket looks better than mine does. The right side is in terrific shape - I got all eight Sweet Sixteen teams correct over there, but just half of the eight teams on the other side of the bracket (the one- and two-seeds, natch). With Cal getting upset at the buzzer by George Washington, Kate Paye at Stanford is the only member of the Storm Coaching Network still alive in the tournament, though there are still plenty of alma maters, including favorites UConn and Tennessee.

In Australia, Jackson is now featured in a TV commercial for RADD (Recording Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drink Driving).

"It is really upsetting and painful for those involved, and the friends and family," Jackson told the Herald Sun, citing experience with those she knew growing up in Albury killed in crashes. "It made me think twice. I can't even have one drink and drive.

"I am too paranoid to do that. I couldn't risk me, my family, my friends or anybody else on the road. I just couldn't live with myself."

Cash in Spain with USA Basketball

Swin Cash and her teammates on the USA Basketball Senior Women's National Team are spending this week in Spain training and playing against two local squads as preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing continues.

Earlier today (and extremely early this morning Seattle time), the U.S. Women defeated Ros Casares Valencia 82-72. The home team led 20-5 early before the U.S., coached by Anne Donovan, rallied for the win.

On Thursday, the U.S. will take on Perfumerías Avenida in Salamanca, Spain.

Through USABasketball.com, you can also e-mail potential questions for the players.

Cash, U.S. to Train in Spain

The U.S. Senior Women's National Team will be heading to Salamanca and Valencia Spain to resume training for this summer's Olympics. Storm newcomer Swin Cash is one of 12 players from the WNBA who will be in Spain from March 14- 20 with the team.

The first stop for the National Team will be in Valencia, Spain from March 14-16, where they will train in preparation for a game against Ros Casares, considered one of the top EuroLeague teams. They are one of the EuroLeague's quarterfinalists and are one win away from reaching the EuroLeague Final Four. The U.S. Women will then take two more days to practice and get ready for their trip to Salamanca, Spain, where they will take on Perfumerias Avenida on March 20.

After the Spain trip, the U.S. Women will hold a training camp in Chicago from April 13-16 to further train for The Good Luck Bejing Tournament, which will also feature teams from Australia, China, Cuba, New Zealand and South Korea. The tournament will be played from April 19-26. That will keep members of the National Team out of the first week of WNBA training camps, which open April 21.

Wrapping Up the College Tour

Since I've last updated the blog, the U.S. Women's Senior National Team has completed its college tour ...

... but first, let me make sure everyone sees this link: WNBA.com has an interview with MVP Lauren Jackson as part of its "Have You Seen Her?" series.

Q. Do you have a motivational saying or motto that you look back at whenever you need that extra bit of motivation?
A. Yeah, something that got me through a lot of hard times and some difficult situations is this: 'Power and control come from letting go.' Once you let go of everything, power and control come back. That's my thing."

... alright, back to our main topic. The U.S. women finished up at 8-0, completing the West Coast portion of their tour last week.

Last Sunday, it was at Texas A&M, where they overwhelmed the host Aggies 75-24. In a pair of matchups in the state of California, we saw a familiar theme - close games in the first half that turned into easy victories late. USC put a real scare into the U.S., leading 36-33 at halftime before the USA put together a 19-3 run early in the second half to take command. Thursday in Stanford, the U.S. women finished up the tour with a 97-62 win over Stanford. Sue Bird scored 19 points in that one to lead the USA.

"The college tour was really good for us," Storm Head Coach Anne Donovan said after the final game. "We had goals with every game and it wasn't until this eighth game that everything came together, from the first minute to the 40th minute. Everybody played well in this last game against Stanford. We had great competition on this college tour. I don't think we could have asked for anything more from these eight games."

"Coach stated what our goals were and those were to finish strong and have a complete game," added Bird. "We kind of struggled at times, but I'm really glad that we can finish this tour with a good taste in our mouth.

"As a whole, it's been a lot of fun. We all got to play, a lot of us got to visit, see our old college teams, like Jamie (Carey), or even our hometown teams like Diana (Taurasi) and Lisa (Leslie) getting to play in L.A. It was really a good experience."

Check out USABasketball.com's quotes for more from Donovan on the college tour. I also enjoyed this response from Bird on playing for Donovan on the National Team as compared to for the Storm:

"At the core of it she's the same, has the principles, the same game plan," Bird said. "For me it's very valuable, especially as a point guard. People might not always understand a play or why we're doing what we're doing and I can be a voice during the game. That's very helpful. She's pretty much the same. If anything I think she probably has to coach a little less here because we're so good. At the core of it, it's the same."

With the college tour in the books, the U.S. women won't reunite until the spring. As for the blog, it's time to begin focusing on the action overseas. Bird and Taurasi were scheduled to fly to Russia to join their Spartak Moscow squad this week, while Lauren Jackson arrived and made her season debut last week and Euroleague play is well underway. StormTracker will have all the details through the spring.

USA Tops ASU

In a game of alphabet soup, the USA - the Senior Women's National Team, to be exact - prevailed over ASU, Arizona State University, 82-48 Thursday night in Tempe.

The No. 12 Sun Devils were hanging in, down just 10 with 10:21 to play, before the U.S. Women finished the game with a 32-8 run to win going away.

"It was another good challenge for us and another good win for us," said Head Coach Anne Donovan. "It's our fifth game, and there has not been one game that we've played solid from start to finish. Once again, we were challenged in the first half and it took the second half before we could really put them away. Give ASU a lot of credit."

The USA got balanced scoring contributions, with six players in double-figures, including three reserves. Seimone Augustus and Swin Cash led in scoring with 14 points apiece. As a team, the U.S. Women shot 56.9% - an even 60% in the first half. Sue Bird led the attack with three assists.

After a couple of days off, the U.S. will play at Texas Tech on Sunday before heading West to California to wrap up the college tour.

- I mentioned the other day that I would get Paul Westhead's thoughts on Corey Gaines being selected as his replacement in Phoenix. I wrapped that into this story on the decision to hire Gaines.

- If you read just one thing today, well, I hope it's my breakdown of the U.S. Women en route to the Olympics. But if you read two things today - and you probably should be at least there - be sure to check out Steve Kelley's column on Tia Jackson in the Seattle Times, in which we learn that Jackson has a close relationship with Storm veteran Wendy Palmer.

USAB Update and More

It's becoming a familiar story for the U.S. Women's Senior National Team. On their current college tour, the U.S. Women have tended to start slowly and finish strong. Tuesday's 82-56 win over Baylor was a dramatic example; the U.S. led by just one at the half but outscored Baylor 48-23 in the second half to earn the easy victory.

"Baylor came out really aggressive, we didn't come out so sharp and they made us pay for that," said Head Coach Anne Donovan. "We did a good job regrouping and then coming out in the second half and really getting after it."

Diana Taurasi (21 points, 11 boards) and Lisa Leslie (10 points, 11 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles. Sue Bird had her high scoring game of the college tour, posting 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

"They played very well, they're a very scrappy team that forced a lot of turnovers and we didn't really come out with our best game," said Bird. "We regrouped at halftime, coach said some things and we were able to turn it around in the second half and play more our style. I think a lot of that was just being aggressive, both defensively and offensively."

Elsewhere, hat tip to posters on the StormFans.org message board for finding a couple of good stories.

Lauren Jackson, scheduled to fly to Russia Monday, talked to The Daily Telegraph about the experience.

When you focus on playing basketball that's great, but you still have 18 hours of the day, which makes it very difficult. And you can either become a television junkie or go shopping and spend all your money or you can study.

I got my diploma in business management (through Thomson Education Direct). I go to training for half a day, read the other half of the day and then at night someone shows up and takes me out around Moscow, so that's all good.

Also, from Israel, a report on Storm guard Tanisha Wright earning "MVP" honors for Round 4 of league play, which took place in late October. Wright had 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in a victory by her Raanana Hertzeliya team.

Lastly, congrats to Corey Gaines, the new head coach of the Phoenix Mercury. Gaines had assisted Paul Westhead in Phoenix the last two seasons and should continue the Westhead style of play that has proven so successful for the Mercury. Phoenix players and Westhead were lobbying for Gaines to be the choice. I'll try to get Westhead's thoughts in the next couple of days.

USA Basketball On Tour

Three games into its college tour, the USA Basketball Senior Women's National Team is 3-0 but has gotten some good competition from the best the college game has to offer (including two of the last three National Champions and the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 ranked teams in the preseason poll).

The tour started Wednesday, when the U.S. Women played the 2006 National Champions, Maryland. The U.S. held a two-point lead at the half, 40-38, but went on a 22-6 run early in the second half to win 90-73.

On Friday, UConn alumnae Sue Bird, Swin Cash and Diana Taurasi returned to their alma mater and Gambel Pavilion, where they teamed up to lead UConn to the 2002 Championship. The Huskies were as close as 64-60 with a little more than eight minutes left, but the U.S. Women pulled away to win 90-74.

Today, the U.S. took on the defending National Champions, Tennessee. The Lady Vols got within three points on a 9-0 run, but were held without a field goal over the final 3:48 as the U.S. finished on a 10-1 run and earned an 83-72 victory. Candace Parker, who played with many of the opposing players during the FIBA Americas Championship in September, scored 22 points for Tennessee.

The storied UConn-Tennessee rivalry played out in interesting fashion over the last two games. At UConn, Tennessee product Kara Lawson hit several big shots down the stretch. Today, Taurasi scored a game-high 28 points against her former rivals.

"We expected this to be very competitive, as was the case at Connecticut and Maryland," said Anne Donovan. "There was lots of good pressure by them and it was a great game for us in terms of having to get our composure at the end of the game and finish a game off. They really challenged us down the stretch. You expect nothing less from Tennessee, they gave us a great ball game from start to finish."

Bird has averaged 9.0 points and 3.0 assists over the first three games of the tour. She enjoyed the matchup with UConn.

"I was really excited for this game coming in and playing on this floor again," Bird said. "I was really excited and glad to be out there and play my heart out."

The big story of the college tour is that Lisa Leslie is making her return to the court for the first time since giving birth to daughter Lauren in June. There have been few signs of rust; Leslie has averaged 15.0 points and 9.3 rebounds, including a double-double today.

"My focus is split with my baby, obviously, and not being able to be at 100 percent because it's only been four months," Leslie said. "I keep seeing glimpses of what I'm going to be capable of doing so that keeps me hopeful of coming back. "

Some other notes:
- Today's game was the Tennessee debut for highly-touted freshman Angie Bjorklund, from Spokane's University High School. She started and scored 13 points, hitting four three-pointers.

"Bjorklund's a nice player," said Lawson. "She's got good composure. You can tell that she knows how to play the game. She doesn't seem rushed when teams are going pretty fast out there."

- Got a surprise watching yesterday's UW-Stanford game (go Dawgs!): Former Storm forward Kate Starbird was honored during halftime as part of the group inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame.

- While we're on college hoops, the Tia Jackson era started with a win. The Huskies beat Love & Basketball 84-59 in an exhibition matchup on Saturday.

U.S. Falls in Final

As hot as they were in the early going Friday, the U.S. Senior Women's National Team was equally as cold Saturday and fell to CSKA Moscow 75-65 in the championship game of the FIBA World League Tournament.

The U.S. Women shot just 34.8% from the field and were 3-of-15 from three-point range in the loss. Center Janel McCarville (18 points, nine rebounds) was the only U.S. player to score in double figures.

"This was a disappointing loss," said U.S. Head Coach Anne Donovan. "We knew we had to hold them to a lower scoring output and we did that, we kept them in the mid-70s, but we just couldn't put the ball in the hole very well tonight. I don't know if it was fatigue or the fifth game in six days, but we just didn't play our best - that's for sure. Offensively, we didn't make shots, we had some turnovers at the wrong times when we were trying to make a run. It just wasn't our night."

The U.S. Women did a pretty good job defensively, limiting CSKA Moscow to 36.7% shooting int he second half and forcing 18 turnovers in the game. However, Moscow took advantage of its formidable frontline of Ann Wauters and Maria Stepanova, who combined for 27 points and 16 boards. Russian vet Ilona Korstin scored 16 points.

The U.S. simply wasn't able to keep up on offense. In particular, Diana Taurasi had a tough night, shooting 2-for-12 from the field and missing all five of her three-point attempts. Taj McWilliams-Franklin was outstanding on the boards and had a double-double, but she shot 2-of-10 from the field.

Storm guard Sue Bird had nine points and four assists and earned the award given to the best guard in the tournament.

This was a weird tournament because a national team was squaring off with club teams. Though the U.S. had something of a talent advantage, the other squads have the benefit of having practiced together for some time. There's a core group of players that remains from the FIBA Americas Championship for the U.S., but the group added several new players.

"I thought that even though there we do have some people who played in Chile, it's pretty much a new team," said Bird. "You can go down the list: Janel McCarville has never played for USA Basketball before at this level and I thought she came in and did a great job; same with Katie Feenstra, someone who's never played (for) USA Basketball. The plays are new, the defenses are new, playing with everybody here was new.

"We definitely had some growing pains, especially in the Lithuania game, but the two wins we had against CSKA and UMMC, I don't think people realize how difficult those games were and how good those teams are. Those are teams that my Russia team has always played against and they're all-star teams. So for us to come in, especially on UMMC's home court, and to win, is great. I see a lot of positives in what we did this week, even though we didn't take home the gold."

USABasketball.com has more coverage, including the box score and quotes.

The National Team returns home and will have little rest, kicking off their college tour on Halloween night at Maryland.

U.S. Women Into Final Game

The U.S. Senior Women's National Game advanced to the championship of the 2007 FIBA World League Tournament early Friday, blowing by host Ekaterinburg 97-79. The U.S. women started fast, hitting four threes in their first five possessions and putting up 33 points in the first quarter. They never really looked back, leading by 22 points at halftime and holding off an Ekaterinburg comeback attempt in the fourth quarter that got no closer than 10 points.

"I tell you what, we shot the ball so well in the first half," said U.S. Head Coach Anne Donovan. "We get excited about our defense because as well as we shot it, we made them very uncomfortable running their sets. It's a beautiful thing when you shoot the ball well and you're playing like that on the other end of the floor. In the second half we didn't shoot as well, but we still shot very good. Even though they made the run, which we knew they would, we kicked it in defensively and got stops when we had to had them. "

The U.S. had plenty of firepower, including the best statistical night of the tournament from Storm guard Sue Bird. She scored 13 points, including a trio of three-pointers, and handed out six assists. Bird's buddy Diana Taurasi led the U.S. with 25 points, adding five triples. And veteran Taj McWilliams-Franklin was an anchor in the paint with 15 points and 10 boards.

Defensively, the U.S. women shut down All-Star forward Penny Taylor, who scored seven points and attempted only six shots in 30 minutes. Sandrine Gruda (20) and Agneiszka Bibrzycka (19) had big nights for Ekaterinburg, but it was not enough. A pair of former 2005 Storm teammates also play for Ekaterinburg - forward Natalia Vodopyanova and center Suzy Batkovic.

In the other semifinal, CSKA Moscow crushed CBA Beijing to set up a rematch of Wednesday's game won by the U.S. The two teams will square off in the final very early Saturday morning Seattle time.

"I'm sure it'll be another very tough battle," said Donovan. They've got great inside players. (Ann) Wauters and (Maria) Stepanova are big players. Stepanova had a good game against us, Wauters was not as effective so I'm sure their focus will be to get the ball inside and see if they can attack our post game a little better than they did the first time."

U.S. Women in Russia

The USA Women's Senior National Team traveled to Russia last week to participate in the 2007 FIBA World League Tournament.

In addition to the U.S. Women, the World League Tournament features seven top club teams from around the World. Pool play is now complete, and the U.S. advanced to the semifinals as the second team from Group B after going 2-1 in the preliminary round.

On Monday (actually Sunday night our time), the U.S. women got off to a good start by blowing past the two-time defending WNBL Champion Canberra Capitals 93-49.

The U.S. won that game with defense, holding Canberra to 22.6% shooting in the first half. Meanwhile, Kara Lawson (20 points) powered the U.S. attack. Four other players scored double-figures, including an efficient outing for Janel McCarville (15 points on 6-for-7 shooting). Sue Bird handed out two assists.

Old friend Tully Bevilaqua had 10 points but nary an assist for the Caps. Canberra's leading scorer was another familiar name - Jessica Bibby, the one-time Storm signee whose career was derailed by a back injury. Bibby scored 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

On Tuesday, the U.S. took on Lithuanian side TEO Vilnius and was handed a surprising 79-76 defeat. The U.S. Women trailed by as many as 13 in the first half and never came all the way back. They got within three in the final 30 seconds, but Kristin Haynie hit one of two free throws, Katie Smith missed and that was that.

The U.S. shot just 28.6% from the field in the first half.

"We didn't start the game with very much intensity at all and we had to play catch up to come back," said Storm and U.S. Head Coach Anne Donovan. "We thought we did that at one point, then we gave up four straight threes. Our intensity ebbed and flowed throughout the whole game and that certainly caught up with us.

"This was a very disappointing game for us, that's for sure. We didn't play with a lot of intensity tonight and I give Vilnius a lot of credit, they played very well."

McCarville was again strong, posting a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds). Diana Taurasi added 16 and Smith 13. Bird scored eight points, hitting a pair of threes, and handed out three assists.

Nykesha Sales led Vilnius with 21 points. Yelena Leuchanka, who saw time with the Washington Mystics last season, had 17 points and 18 rebounds, and Haynie scored 15 points and dished out six assists.

(Much) earlier today, the U.S. women concluded pool play against CSKA Moscow, needing a win to advance to the medal round. They got it, defeating Moscow 81-72. The game was tight throughout, with the U.S. women holding on.

"You saw a team out there that was on a mission, knowing we had to win this game in order to advance and trying to make up for our poor performance yesterday," said Bird, who finished with six points, five steals and four rebounds. "It was really good to see how focused we were."

Seimone Augustus, in a reserve role, scored a game-high 19 points, with the duo of Smith and Taurasi combining for 31 more.

The U.S. beat a loaded team in CSKA Moscow which has elite foreign talent including one-time Storm guard Edwige Lawson-Wade and Ann Wauters as well as WNBA stars Becky Hammon and Nicole Powell - both of whom came off the bench today.

As a result, TEO Vilnius, CSKA Moscow and the U.S. all finished 2-1 in Group B. Moscow won the group, with the U.S. second and Vilnius third and out of the semifinals. After a day off Thursday, the U.S. Women will play another Russian team, Ekaterinburg, on Friday at 7:00 p.m. local time and 6:00 a.m. Pacific. The winner of that game will face the winner of Moscow-CBA Beijing, the other semifinal.

U.S. Secures Gold, Olympic Berth

The U.S. Senior Women's National Team traveled to Chile with one goal: Winning the FIBA Americas Championship and qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Mission accomplished.

In a rematch with a Cuban team that led much of the second half of an eventual 85-79 U.S. victory in Wednesday's FIBA Americas opener, the U.S. Women demonstrated their improvement over the course of the tournament. That was evident from the opening tip, as the U.S. opened the game with a 16-0 run and never looked back in a 101-71 victory.

"Cuba came out and we jumped on them right away," said Storm and U.S. Head Coach Anne Donovan. "I thought we stayed focused throughout the game with our bench. It was a really great effort throughout this tournament, five games in five days. We started with the best team in the tournament, we finished with the best team in the tournament. We could see Cuba start to wear down throughout this tournament and that's where our depth and our bench comes into play."

The depth of the roster allowed Donovan to use a 10-player rotation; 11 of the team's 12 players scored, with only Cappie Pondexter failing to scratch. Tina Thompson's 18 points led the U.S., while Diana Taurasi posted a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds). Katie Smith also scored 15 points and Kara Lawson added 14 off the bench.

Storm guard Sue Bird led the team from the point. In 20 minutes, she made both of her shot attempts and did not commit a turnover, scoring five points and handing out three assists.

"I think today's game was the sum of everything that we've been working on," said Bird. "Everybody coming together, playing the way we can, being comfortable, being confident."

While winning was the goal, the tournament also provided the U.S. valuable experience as a team leading up to next summer's Olympics. That will continue later this fall with an exhibition tour in the U.S. against several major college teams.

"If we could take this team, this effort that we've made, this progress that we've made in these three or four weeks, if we could pick up where we leave off, this team will be in great shape come Beijing," said Donovan. "I really can't say enough about where we are defensively and where our focus is, our energy and concentration. We have great offensive powers. But it's the other end of the floor that we've figured out. As long as we don't take any steps backwards and every time we get together for a training camp we move forward, we're going to be in good shape."

While Bird and Donovan secured gold medals, Iziane Castro Marques and Brazil claimed bronze. Brazil rebounded from a loss to Cuba in the semifinals by crushing Argentina in the third-place game, 73-41. Castro Marques had a quiet game, scoring eight of her 10 points from the free-throw line and shooting 1-of-6 from the field.

Brazil will attempt to qualify for the Olympics in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which will be held next June 9-15. Castro Marques has said she will represent her team in that tournament, which would take her away from the WNBA season.

Despite her off night, Castro Marques finished as the tournament's second-leading scorer at 18.0 points per game. The leader? Long-time Storm center Simone Edwards, who averaged 18.8 points. Bird's 4.0 assists per game ranked her second behind teammate Pondexter (4.8).

Once again, for more coverage check out USABasketball.com and Adam Hirshfield's live blog at WNBA.com.

One last Olympics note: New Zealand took advantage of Australia's automatic berth to qualify for Oceania's spot in Beijing despite losing to the Lauren Jackson-less Opals 87-46 on Saturday. There's a local aspect to the story, as incoming Washington freshman Jessica McCormack is headed to the Olympics. McCormack played 35 minutes against Australia, posting six rebounds and seven boards for the Tall Ferns.