USA Routs Czech Republic 88-61 After Slow Start

USA had another slow but managed to pick up their form quickly to hammer out a dominating 88-61 win over Czech Republic to stay perfect in the women’s basketball competition of the 2012 London Olympics.

Czech Republic was on target early in the game as they jumped on the gun early and took a 10-0 run to start the game and were still ahead after the first period, despite a counter rally from the American squad.

However, USA found their deadly form and led by as much as 12 points in the second period before ending the half with a 48-38 lead at the half.

Riding from the momentum they got from their second-quarter rally, USA unleashed in 20-3 rally to start the second half and they never looked back and made life difficult for the Czechs en route to their fourth win in as many games.

“We had a little bit of a tough time getting shots to go in and the Czech Republic team did a great job of hitting their threes,” said USA guard Maya Moore, who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. “We just try to stay aggressive. It’s about when the other team hits you; you got to get back up and figure out a way to overcome it. And that’s what we did.”

Diana Taurasi was in his usual offensive form, scoring 18 points to lead the Americans, while Tina Charles had a double-double performance, racking up 16 points and eight rebounds for USA, who extended their Olympic winning streak to 37 games.

Michaela Zrustova, on the other hand, led Czech Republic with 15 points, while veteran Eva Viteckova added 12, but it was not enough as they dropped their record to 1-3.

Despite the loss, Czech Republic is still in contention for a spot in the quarterfinals. A win in their final preliminary round assignment against Angola on Sunday – the same day the Americans go for a clean sweep when they face China.

2012 London Olympics Women’s Basketball
Czech Republic vs USA Box Score
(Click for Larger Image)SOURCE: london2012.fiba.com