USA (U19) women's basketball turns in another defensive gem to beat Spain in semifinals

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Lance Smith

USA (U19) women's basketball turns in another defensive gem to beat Spain in semifinals image

The World Cup finals matchup that's seemed destined from the start will indeed transpire.

USA has guaranteed itself a medal and will face Australia on Sunday after taking down Spain 70-58 in the semifinals.

After the first half was neck-and-neck until two minutes before halftime, the outcome was never in doubt and less close than the final score indicated.

USA led 29-28 with 2:29 remaining in the second quarter before finishing the half on a game-high 9-0 run instigated by Jazzy Davidson. The nation's top-ranked incoming college freshman (USC) and Clackamas (OR) product hit a mid-range jumper off the dribble, scored in transition after stealing the ball, and drained a three in subsequent possessions to give the Americans a 36-28 lead with 1:22 remaining. Texas University rising sophomore Jordan Lee added a steal plus layup of her own to go up 38-28 with 27 seconds left, a lead they'd take into halftime.

It was all USA from there until the game's closing minutes. USA surged to a 19-6 run in the first 5:13 of the third quarter to take the game's largest lead at 57-34. Neither team scored for nearly three minutes of the fourth quarter as USA led 64-42. Spain turned up the heat and chipped away down the stretch, but it didn't amount to much more than window dressing. Its lead got no lower than 14 points again until a second-chance bucket from Maria Anais Rodriguez with 32 seconds remaining cut it to 12.

On the only off-night of the tournament from center Sienna Betts, an incoming freshman at UCLA and The Sporting News' National High School Player of the Year last season at Grandview (CO), the rest of Team USA had no trouble picking up the slack. And for what it's worth, Betts still made a positive impact, leading the Americans with seven rebounds and two blocks to go with four points and two assists before fouling out after 28 minutes of action. She finished second in plus-minus at +16.

Doing the scoring were USA's other offensive stars, Davidson (15 points, two assists, four steals) and Montverde Academy senior Saniyah Hall (16 points, two assists, two steals), in addition to Lee (15 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals). All three shot above 50% from the field and made at least one three, with Davidson hitting three in four attempts.

Davidson bounced back in style from her lone off-night, in which she had two points, three assists, and four turnovers on 1-4 shooting in a 70-65 quarterfinals win over France.

Lee has earned heavy starter's minutes as the team's glue and a defensive stopper on the perimeter, but hadn't been an offensive force for this team until the semifinals. That's despite being a particularly accomplished scorer during her high school career at St. Mary's (Stockton, CA) and in flashes as a freshman at Texas. Through the tournament's first four games, Lee averaged 4.0 PPG on 5-20 (25%) shooting. She had tournament-highs of nine points (50% FG), six rebounds, three steals, and three blocks against France, and enters the title game against Australia with a full head of steam on both sides of the ball.

Another player who had a bounce-back performance in smaller doses was Addison Bjorn, a senior wing at Park Hill South (MO). Bjorn didn't play in the quarterfinals against France following an outstanding 17-minute stint against China in the round of 16, and it's unclear if it was health-related or a coach's decision. But she was back in the rotation on Saturday and gave a nice boost in 14 minutes, converting both shot attempts for four points, grabbing four rebounds, and recording two steals and two blocks.

UConn guard and Long Island Lutheran alumni Kayleigh Heckel amassed six of USA's 18 steals to go with six points and three assists.

A major positive omen for the Americans entering the championship is that they finally broke through from both the three-point line (7-16) and charity stripe (11-12). However, they still only scored 70 points, which isn't bad given Spain's outstanding defense but is far from what they're capable of. The reason? Turnovers, which have been a minor issue all tournament but far from a cause for concern until Saturday. Spain actually won the turnover battle 27-21, and that was the biggest key to holding the Americans to 70 points along with strong point-of-attack defense and help rotations in half-court situations. However, the Americans outscored Spain 22-18 in points off turnovers.

Rodriguez led Spain with 14 points on 7-13 shooting and recorded six rebounds and two steals. Somtochukwu-Blessed Okafor had nine points and six rebounds in under 19 minutes. Marta Alsina registered nine points and four steals, and Shaila Nde led the team with seven rebounds and three blocks in only 20 minutes.

USA enters the finals against Australia as a favorite, but not an overwhelming one. Australia beat France by nearly an identical score as the Americans (70-66) in group phase, but did struggle more with Hungary in the quarterfinals, winning 82-76 after USA routed Hungary 79-49 in group play.

Australia has enough size to hang with USA if Betts isn't at her best. Most of Australia's roster stands right around six feet, give or take an inch. Both teams average exactly 53.0 rebounds per game, but USA has the edge in rim protection and inside-the-arc scoring. The Aussies space the floor out like none others, making 9.6 of 23.8 threes per game (40.3%). USA also has a major edge in the steals department (17.3 to 7.2 per game). Top players to watch on Australia include guard Bonnie Deas (12.2. points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.0 blocks), 6-foot-2 forward Sitaya Fagan (12.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 46% FG), wing Madison Ryan, guard Monique Bobongie, forward Prasayus Notoa, forward Manuela Puoch, point guard Ruby Perkins, and wing Zara Russell.

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