McCray Scores 12 As Team USA Routes Serbia 84-50 In World University Games Action
July 3, 2009
BELGRADE, Serbia –
Box Score in PDF Format
Kansas senior All-American Danielle McCray turned in her second-straight double digit performance with 12 points as the 2009 USA Women’s World University Games Team (3-0) buckled down on defense and held Serbia to just 36 points in the final three quarters and 36.7 shooting from the field overall to secure a 84-50 win on Friday evening in Belgrade, Serbia.
“We were really excited to play Serbia,” said McCray, an Olathe, Kan., native. “Coach (Charli Turner Thorne) gave us a good talk about how much this game mattered to us, and I think it just us fired up.”
McCray, who again earned a nod in the starting line-up, knocked down 3-of-6 shots from the floor and all five of her attempts from the free throw line. She also recorded three rebounds, while logging just 13 minutes of play in the easy win for the United States.
The USA will advance to the second round as Group A’s No. 1 seed, where it will meet the No. 2 seed from Group D, Poland (2-1), at 5:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. CDT) on Sunday, July 5.
“I think we need to just take it game-by-game,” said McCray, who is averaging 12.0 points per game for Team USA through three games. “We are 3-0 going into the second round and it’s a great thing. We just have to stay focused on the next opponent and not in the standings.”
Tina Charles (Connecticut / Jamaica, N.Y.), who shot 8-of-10 from the field, led the USA with 17 points and five rebounds; followed by Ashley Houts (Georgia / Trenton, Ga.) and McCray with 12 points each; and Alexis Gray-Lawson (California / Oakland, Calif.) with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals.
For a third straight game, all 11 active U.S. players put points on the board, and for a second time, all 11 U.S. players grabbed at least one rebound.
“I think we were prepared for a close game, and at the same time, we knew that if we rebounded and played defense, we could pretty much dominate the game,” said Turner Thorne. “I am really proud of this team for their composure and playing through rough play. We did anticipate Serbia would be very aggressive after scouting them, and the crowd was certainly in their favor, but it was fun. This is what we prepared for – a big arena, big crowd and having to pull together and find a way to get things done. It was another great team win.”
Jantel Lavender (Ohio State / Cleveland, Ohio) added seven points and seven rebounds; Tiffany Hayes (Connecticut / Lakeland, Fla.) contributed six points and five assists; and Jacinta Monroe (Florida State / Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) tallied five points and eight rebounds.
Turner Thorne is assisted on the USA sideline by Suzy Merchant of Michigan State University and Julie Rousseau of Pepperdine University.
