September 28, 2006 • Colorado Springs, Colorado

Top Playmaker In her first outing as the leading point guard for the USA Senior National Team, Sue Bird passed out a tournament-best 41 assists and was awarded the 2006 World Championship Assist trophy from Brazilian basketball legend Hortencia. (Photo: Joe Murphy / NBAE / Getty Images)

The 2006 USA Women's Senior National Team, for the second time in over a decade playing without the full complement of it's "Big Three" of Lisa Leslie (withdrawal), Dawn Staley (coaching) and Sheryl Swoopes (hampered by injuries), proved that there are newcomers ready to rise up for the red, white and blue, including Sue Bird, Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi, who have picked up the torch for the United States and will keep it burning well into the future.

That's the way it's been for USA Basketball through the past 30-plus years. Young players learn from the veterans, then pass along their knowledge and passion to a new generation. Lisa, Dawn and Sheryl didn't just step out of nowhere and into the international spotlight, they grabbed the torch from vets Teresa Edwards and Katrina McClain-Johnson who, in turn, learned from other past leaders of the game. And the new trio of Bird, Parker and Taurasi have emerged as three of the latest bright spots in a long line of USA Basketball standouts.

Bird (Seattle Storm) and Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury), earned top honors at the end of the tournament as the top playmaker and 3-point shooter, respectively. Bird dished out a high of 41 assists and Taurasi netted 25-of-50 3-pointers over the nine games.

Newcomer Parker (Tennessee / Naperville, Ill.) proved that the world needs to watch out for strong U.S. players coming up through the ranks. Not only was she the team's third leading scorer (12.8 ppg.), Parker surpassed the USA's World Championship record for blocked shots in a single competition after swatting 14 in nine games. Three-time Olympian Katrina McClain-Johnson held the previous record with 11 in 1990.

Taurasi's 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point in the bronze medal game set the new single-game record for made 3-pointers and tied the record for attempts, while Tina Thompson (Houston Comets) tied five-time Olympian Teresa Edwards' record for 3-point field goal percentage after making a perfect 4-of-4 against Russia in the preliminary round. As a team, the squad's 119-point output against China in the opener eclipsed the former record of 109 points in a single game.

Over the last 12 years, dating to the 1994 bronze medal victory over host Australia, the USA women have posted a 51-1 record in Olympic and World Championship play, claiming three Olympic golds (1996, 2000, 2004), two World Championship titles (1998, 2002) and a pair of Worlds bronze medals (1994, 2006).

However, the five gold medals did not come easily and there have been teams like Australia, Brazil and Russia poised to take advantage of a bad night on the USA side. And that's what happened in Brazil at the 15th FIBA World Championship. Russia played outstanding basketball, while the U.S. was less than stellar.

So it was not what they came for, but the members of the 2006 USA squad picked themselves back up after a disappointing loss to Russia in the semifinals for a 99-59 dominating victory over Brazil in the bronze medal game in Sao Paulo. Australia won its first World Championship gold medal by defeating Russia 91-74 in the final contest.

The USA, which held three separate training camps in the spring that saw 26 athletes participate, was left to defend its title after the late withdrawals for personal reasons of a pair of prominent post players in three-time Olympic and two-time World Championship gold medalist Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks) and two-time Olympic gold medalist Yolanda Griffith (Sacramento Monarchs).

Additionally, the final 12-member squad never practiced together as a full unit as Cheryl Ford, who previously played just three games internationally for the USA Senior National Team in 2004, and Katie Smith arrived in Brazil on Sept. 12, the day of the first game, after helping the Detroit Shock to the WNBA title on Sept. 9. Further, three-time Olympic gold medalist and 2002 World Championship gold medalist Swoopes (Houston Comets) never fully recovered from back spasms that kept her out of over a week of training prior to the Worlds.

In all, over the three spring camps and the 2006 FIBA World Championship the United States posted a 19-2 record (.905 winning percentage), came home from Brazil with the bronze medal and earned the Australia-hosted 2006 Opals World Challenge title last April.

The United States now owns an 88-21 all-time record in World Championship play and has won a record seven golds, as well as one silver and two bronze medals in 14 Worlds dating back to the first World Championship in 1953.

For three-time Olympic gold medalist Swoopes, who won a bronze at the 1994 Worlds, a gold in 2002 and is hoping to return in 2008, the bronze medal game against Brazil was her final World Championship contest.

Four-time U.S. Olympic Team member Anne Donovan, head coach of the Seattle Storm, is serving as the USA's head coach through 2008 and was assisted at the 2006 FIBA World Championship by 2006 WNBA Coach of the Year Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun and collegiate head coaches Gail Goestenkors (Duke) and Staley (Temple).

In addition to Bird, Ford, Parker, Smith, Swoopes, Taurasi and Thompson, the U.S. team included Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Alana Beard (Washington Mystics), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), DeLisha Milton-Jones (Washington Mystics) and Michelle Snow (Houston Comets).

Opening on Sept. 12 with a 119-72 rout of China in a game that was never in doubt, the USA was led by Bird's 20 points, while Thompson and Taurasi each poured in 17 as everyone scored and five players were in double digits. Outscoring Nigeria 25-4 in the opening stanza on Sept. 13, the United States went on to record a 70-46 victory behind a balanced attack led by Milton-Jones' 13 points. In its first real test, the U.S. upended Russia 90-80 to close out preliminary round play. This time it was Thompson's turn to lead the charge with 19 points, while Parker contributed 17.

Advancing to the second round, the USA got 16 points and nine rebounds from Parker ina 90-50 rout of Cuba on Sept. 16. The following day the squad finished off France 76-41 as Taurasi's 15 points led the United States' balanced scoring. Holding a 31-28 halftime lead over the Czech Republic, the U.S. blew the game open in the third quarter (18-10) and went on to record the 63-50 victory. Four members of the team scored in double digits as Parker and Thompson's 14 points apiece led the charge.

Meeting up with Lithuania in the medal quarterfinals on Sept. 20, the USA led the Baltic State 27-26 after the first period, but outscored Lithuania 21-6 and 21-5 in the second and third periods, respectively, and cruised in for the 90-56 victory. Parker's 18 points paced all scorers and Thompson added 15.

The U.S. fell behind early, 25-13 after the first quarter, and never fully recovered in the Sept. 21 semifinal game against Russia and dropped its first major international game in 12 years, 75-68. Taurasi scored 21 points, Thompson had 15 and Parker came off the bench for 13, but it was not enough to stop the Russians.

Rebounding in the bronze medal game two days later, the United States proved it was still one of the world's top teams as it ran out to a 49-34 halftime lead, then overpowered the hosts and quieted the crowd with a 34-11 show in the third quarter, and finished the tournament on a high note. The 99-59 bronze medal victory saw every team member score for the fifth time in nine games as Taurasi's 28 points in 16 minutes wowed the spectators and paced the U.S. in the win.

2006 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team & World Championship Team Highlights

• Despite the bronze medal finish, the 8-1 United States squad finished the competition ranked among the top five in nearly every major statistical category, including No. 1 in scoring (86.0), scoring defense (58.8), scoring margin (+27.2), defensive field goal percentage (.327), 3-point field goal percentage (.404), rebounding (42.0), rebounding margin (+13.2), defensive rebounds (30.67) and assists (15.56), while ranking second for field goal percentage (.482), defensive 3-point percentage (.268), blocked shots (3.78) and assists-to-turnover ratio (0.92).
  
  
• Even with the USA's minutes spread from 9.4 per game to 23.3 per game, several players finished ranked high among the individual competition leaders in the 192-athlete field. Tina Thompson (14.4), Diana Taurasi (14.3) and Candace Parker (12.8) ranked 14th, 16th and 24th, respectively, among the top scorers; Tamika Catchings (6.9) and Parker (6.1) were 13th and 18th in rebounding; Sue Bird led the field in assists (41) and was second in assists per game (4.56); Parker (.583) ranked third for field goal percentage, while Taurasi (.500, 12th) and Thompson (.491, 15th) were among the top 15 in that category; Catchings (2.0) was tied for fifth in steals; DeLisha Milton-Jones (.818) ranked 11th for free throw percentage; Taurasi (.500) and Bird (.500) tied for tops in 3-point field goal percentage, with Thompson (.464) ranked sixth; Taurasi was tops for 3-pointers made (25) and second for 3-pointers made per game (2.78); Parker (1.56) tied for second for blocked shots; and Bird (2.56) ranked second for assists-to-turnover ratio.
  
  
• The U.S. retained its No. 1 world ranking by FIBA, which not only takes into consideration national team events, but also U19 and U21 World Championships and zone qualification tournaments.
  
  
• Looking to the future, the USA brought in three college players during its spring training – Ohio State's Jessica Davenport, Louisiana State's Sylvia Fowles and Tennessee's Candace Parker – with an eye to the future. Also added to the spring training roster were the WNBA No. 1 and No. 2 picks, Seimone Augustus and Cappie Pondexter, respectively. Augustus and Parker were both among the final 12-member 2006 USA World Championship squad and Parker, who still has three years of collegiate eligibility remaining, played a prominent role in the post (12.8 ppg., 6.1 rpg., 1.6 bpg.) due to the withdrawal of Yolanda Griffith and Lisa Leslie. Pondexter trained with the U.S. in Durham, N.C. prior to the World Championship, and traveled with the squad to Brazil in case Swoopes wouldn't be able to compete.
  
  
• The USA's 8-1 run was headed mostly by young players who have been passed the torch and will grow into their roles in the coming years. Three of the USA's top four scorers are 25-years-old and younger, including the 20-year-old Candace Parker. Sue Bird, the oldest of the trio, took the reigns of the team from Dawn Staley after seeing limited playing time serving as Staley's understudy during the 2002 Worlds and 2004 Olympics.
  
  
• In five of its nine games, the United States had every member of the team contribute in the scoring column, including the bronze medal contest against Brazil.