OT USA in the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup - Printable Version

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OT USA in the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup - joemontes - 09-29-2022

I initially thought that Team USA would struggle in the current 2020 Women's Basketball World Cup with the retirement of fixtures BIRD and TAURASI from world competitions as well as the absence of their top 3 post players of their gold-winning 2016 and 2020 Olympic Teams and 2014 and 2018 World Cup Teams in 6'8 GRINER, 6'6 FOWLES and 6'4 Tina CHARLES.  

Plus the fact that 5 of their players were still playing in the WNBA Finals (Las Vegas Aces' Aja WILSON, Chelsey GRAY, and Kelsey PLUM, Connecticut Suns' Brionna JONES and Alyssa THOMAS) and did not participate at all during the barely two weeks of practice before the event.

Well, was I emphatically wrong!

Despite JONES and THOMAS arriving in Sydney the morning of their first game vs Belgium, and WILSON, GRAY and PLUM unable to play in their first two games (vs Belgium and Puerto Rico), Team USA blitzed through their group elimination round play:

USA 87 Belgium 72  (without WILSON, GRAY and PLUM)
USA 106 Puerto Rico 42  (without WILSON, GRAY and PLUM) 
USA 77 China 63 (China to me is the 2nd best team in the entire tournament)
USA 145 South Korea 69
USA 121 Bosnia & Herzegovina 59

In yesterday's Quarterfinal Round:

USA 88 Serbia 55
Canada 79 Puerto Rico 60
China 85 France 71
Australia 86 Belgium 69

In tonight's Semifinals (PST):
1200AM  USA vs Canada
230 AM   Australia vs China


I consider Aja WILSON and Alyssa THOMAS to be the MVPs of Team USA so far.

WILSON is averaging 17.3 ppg (1st for Team USA, 2nd overall), 
7.0 rpg (2nd for Team USA, 11th overall),
1.3 bpg (1st for Team USA, 6th overall)
while shooting a tournament leading 72.5 FG% and 100 FT% 
and is the leading candidate for tournament MVP at this point.

THOMAS is averaging 10.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg (1st for Team USA, 8th overall),
5.2 apg (1st for Team USA, 8th overall) and
a tournament leading 3.2 spg

Other double digit averaging Team USA players include:
Kelsey PLUM           16.0 ppg 
Brionna JONES        13.0 ppg
Breanna STEWART  12.7 ppg
Shakira AUSTIN       11.2 ppg
Chelsea GRAY          10.3 ppg

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RE: OT USA in the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup - crackpot - 09-30-2022

That the US is demolishing the other teams makes me even more crazed that Nneka was left off of the Olympic team. By this summer, she should have been part of the old guard. Keeping Geno's faves obviously held them back.

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RE: OT USA in the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup - joemontes - 10-01-2022

The USA continued its dominant ways until the end, demolishing Canada, 83-43 in the semifinals,
then routing China 83-61 in the championship game.

Aja WILSON (who is actually my favorite female basketball player for a few years now) was named 
Tournament MVP and is also joined by Brianna STEWART in the Mythical Five team.
But the player who was really the engine of this relatively young American team
is their oldest member in 30-year old Alyssa THOMAS - she kind of gave me a glimpse 
of what Stanford's very own Haley JONES will do at the next level!

In the 3rd place game, 41-year old Lauren JACKSON, who came out of her almost decade long retirement
to join the Opals one last time to primarily give them morale on-court support, literally turned back
the hands of time and played like vintage Lauren as she poured in 30 points in their 95-65 thrashing
of Canada. Wow! I actually became somewhat emotional as I marvelled watching the highlights 
of her performance in this, her final swan song:
(248) Lauren Jackson ?? | 30 PTS | 7 REB | 35 EFF | TCL Player of the Game - YouTube

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