July 13, 1998

LORCA, Spain – Notre Dame’s RUTH RILEY (Macy, Ind.) netted nine points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds as the 1998 USA Women’s Basketball Select Team posted a 50-38 victory against Spain’s National Team on Sunday night, July 12. With the win, the USA improves to 5-1 on its eight-game, 15-day tour.

Virginia’s DeMya Walker led the U.S. squad with 12 points in the contest. The 38 points were the fewest allowed in the six games played.

“Once again our defense sustained us,” USA Select Team head coach Carol Ross said. “To hold Spain’s National Team to 38 in the game is a tremendous effort by this team. We battled every step of the way. It was a total team effort. This team has shown a great work ethic and has continued to improve with each game they play.”

Spain jumped out to a 10-4 start, but the U.S. rallied to pull within one, 12-11, in the early minutes of the game. The U.S. offense found scoring tough in the first half and trailed by eight (25-17) at the half. In the second half, the U.S. team fought back and cut Spain’s lead to one, 25-24, before making a 9-2. With 9:13 left to play in the game, the USA had its first lead and then extended the margin to 14 points (46-32) with 2:27 left in the game. Spain managed just six points in the final minutes of the game.

The USA Select Team will meet Spain again on July 13 and 14 to conclude its eight-game tour.

USA Player-By-Player (Scoring-Rebounding-Assists)

DeMya Walker (Virginia) — 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist
Ruth Riley (Notre Dame) — 9 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist
Stacey Thomas (Michigan) — 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists
Ukari Figgs (Purdue) — 2 points, 2 assists
Jackie Stiles (Southwest Missouri State) — 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Katie Douglas (Purdue) — 4 points, 2 rebounds
Tynesha Lewis (North Carolina State) — DNP
Jamie Redd (Washington) — DNP
Brooke Wyckoff (Florida State) — 2 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Andrea Garner (Penn State) — 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist
Laura Meadows (Kentucky) — DNP
Michele VanGorp (Duke) — 2 points, 1 rebound