Aug. 15, 2005
IZMIR, Turkey – Notre Dame senior point guard Megan Duffy (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne HS) converted a critical three-point play and added two assists in a game-turning 11-1 run late in the third quarter as the USA World University Games Team defeated Poland, 89-63 on Monday afternoon in Izmir, Turkey. The United States finishes preliminary round play with a perfect 4-0 record, clinching the top spot in Pool B and setting up a quarterfinal matchup against Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. EST/CDT in South Bend).
Making her fourth start in as many games, Duffy turned in perhaps her best all-around performance of the tournament thus far, scoring a game-high 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, a game-best six assists and three steals. Seimone Augustus (LSU) added 12 points, and Jessica Davenport (Ohio State) and Lisa Willis (UCLA) each tallied 11 points for the United States, which shot 53.6 percent (37-of-69) from the floor in the victory.
“Poland is a great team,” Duffy said. “They caught us back on our heels a little bit in the first half. The minute we made a mistake, they took advantage of it. In the second half, we settled down and played our basketball.”
Entering the second half with a 38-35 advantage, the U.S. gave up a free throw and a three-pointer to Joanna Czarnecka with 9:00 left in the third frame to give Poland a 39-38 lead, its first since the first quarter. Layups by Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers) and Sylvia Fowles (LSU) within a 10-second span allowed the Americans to regain the lead, 42-39, with 8:09 remaining in the period. After trading baskets, a Poland layup at the six-minute mark of the third quarter gave the Polish a slim 45-44 advantage. However, Augustus connected on a jumper at the 5:17 mark to give the Americans a 46-45 lead they never relinquished.
The U.S. advantage grew to four after Duffy nabbed a steal and made a breakaway layup and the ensuing free throw 21 seconds later. Duffy found Augustus on consecutive possessions to bring the American lead to 55-46 with 2:50 left in the third stanza. Poland decreased its deficit to five on a basket from Magdalena Leciejewska with 30 seconds remaining, but Willis answered with a three-pointer to give the Americans a 60-52 lead heading into the fourth period. The USA’s late third-quarter run carried over into the final frame, as the Americans scored the first 14 points of the fourth and outscored Poland, 29-9 in the quarter.
With Monday marking the end of preliminary round action at the World University Games, the brackets now are set for the classification round, with the top two teams in each pool remaining in medal contention. In addition to the U.S. game vs. Taiwan (3-1), the remainder of Tuesday’s quarterfinals will see Russia (4-0) face host Turkey (3-1), Poland (2-2) square off with Serbia & Montenegro (4-0), and Australia (4-0) take on Germany (2-2). Should Team USA defeat Taiwan on Tuesday, it would advance to the medal round semifinals on Wednesday against the winner of the Russia-Turkey matchup.
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2005 USA World University Games Team Schedule/Results (Izmir, Turkey)
Aug. 10 Czech Republic W, 88-64 (Pool B play)
Aug. 11 South Africa W, 92-22 (Pool B play)
Aug. 12 China W, 107-54 (Pool B play)
Aug. 15 Poland W, 89-63 (Pool B play)
Aug. 16 Taiwan 10:30 a.m. (Quarterfinals)
Aug. 17 Semifinals
Aug. 19 Finals
All times local to site and subject to change (NOTE: Turkey is eight hours ahead of South Bend’s current EST/CDT time zone)