2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women

Headed by Barbara Nelson of Wingate University, the USA U17 Women cruised to eight straight wins and the gold medal in the inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship for Women, which was held July 16-25 in Toulouse and Rodez, France.

2010 USA Women's U17 World Championship Team 2010 USA RESULTS (8-0) USA 70 France 45 USA 82 Russia 38 USA 114 Canada 57 USA 84 Turkey 55 USA 133 Japan 71 USA 86 Spain 57 USA 97 China 74 USA 92 France 62 2010 FIBA U17 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS 1. USA (8-0) 7. Australia (4-4) 2. France (5-3) 8. Spain (2-6) 3. China (6-2) 9. Argentina (4-3) 4. Belgium (5-3) 10. Turkey (3-4) 5. Japan (4-4) 11. Canada (1-6) 6. Russia (3-4) 12. Mali (0-7)

The USA opened play with a 70-45 win over host France in front of a loud, sold-out crowd of more than 2,000 on July 16 in Rodez. Five players scored in double figures for the USA, led by 13 points from Breanna Stewart and 12 points and 11 rebounds from Elizabeth Williams.

Behind a 20-point, 14-rebound performance from Williams, the USA crushed Russia 82-34 on July 17. Stewart added 12 points and nine rebounds, followed by nine points from Cierra Burdick and nine rebounds from Bashaara Graves.

The USA wasted no time jumping on Canada, cruising to a 114-57 win that featured points from all 12 U.S. players on July 18. Led by 21 points, including 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point, from Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, the USA also received 19 points from Jewell Loyd, 13 points from Bria Smith, 12 points from Morgan Tuck and Williams and 12 rebounds from Imani Stafford.

The USA powered past Turkey 84-55 on July 20. Loyd and Tuck led the USA with 11 points as all 12 U.S. players scored.

The red, white and blue easily overpowered Japan 133-71 to close out preliminary play on July 21. The USA, which was led by 30 points, from Stewart, featured seven players in double figures as all 12 U.S. players scored. Williams finished with 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the field, and the USA tallied 35 assists, including 10 from Massengale.

A game-changing 23-4 run led to an eventual 86-57 victory over Spain in the quarterfinals on July 23 in Toulouse. Led by 16 points, including 3-of-4 shooting from deep, by Mosqueda-Lewis, all 12 U.S. players scored and grabbed at least one rebound. Williams tallied 11 points, Burdick and Loyd added 10 points each and Jordan Adams dished out five assists.

The Americans needed nearly all 40 minutes to secure a 97-74 win over China in the semifinals on July 24. Massengale led the USA with 22 points, followed by 17 points and 11 rebounds from Stewart and 14 points and 11 rebounds from Williams.

The USA capped its performance and captured the gold with a 92-62 win over France on July 25. For a fifth time, all 12 U.S. players scored, led by 20 points from Massengale and 15 points each from Mosqueda-Lewis and Williams.

Overall, the USA led the tournament in 13 of 19 statistical categories, including scoring margin (+37.4), rebounding margin (+24.6), field goal percentage (.497), 3-point percentage (.408), assists per game (18.9) and blocks per game (7.4).

In individual categories, five U.S. players combined for 11 top-five finishes. Massengale led the tournament with 5.4 apg. (43), Williams ranked second in field goal percentage (.618) and Stewart ranked second in blocked shots (2.3 bpg.).

The USA also tallied a 2-1 exhibition record July 9-11 in Alagon, Spain, topping Canada 93-47 on July 9, falling to Australia 64-58 on July 10 and beating Spain 61-50 on July 11.