Puerto Rico Tops Costa Rica 71-41 To Finish Seventh In 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women

June 27, 2010 - Colorado Springs, Colo.

Leading by four points after the first period of play, the Puerto Rico Women's U18 National Team (1-4) limited Costa Rica (0-5) to just one point in the second period while racing to 22 of its own to open up an insurmountable lead on June 27 in the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Cruising to an eventual 71-41 win, Puerto Rico finishes the tournament in seventh place.

'We always want to finish a tournament with a win, and our girls played hard' said Puerto Rico head coach Raymond Lopez. 'We have a young team. We only have three girls who are 18 years old, the rest are 17, 16 and 15. So, I'm pleased with the effort, not with the result but with the effort.

'In the game against Argentina, for example, we had a chance to win the game in the last two minutes' Lopez continued. 'I think that game showed that we have a lot of potential to keep growing. Like I said, I'm pleased with the effort, and in a couple of years I think we are going to have a team that will be capable of competing and maybe contending for a world championship.'

Michelle Mayorga of Costa Rica finished with a game-high 22 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome 34 points from the Puerto Rican bench or Costa Rica's dismal 14-of-73 shooting from the field (19.2 percent).

Two 3-pointers from Mayorga helped Costa Rica keep pace with Puerto Rico's six scorers in the first period, and the scoreboard read 16-12 in Puerto Rico's advantage at the first break. From there, however it was all Puerto Rico.

Four straight points from Puerto Rico's Diamalises Rivera were followed by eight more unanswered points from her teammates, and by the 3:12 mark in the second quarter, a 12-0 run had given Puerto Rico a 28-12 advantage and all but secured the game's outcome. By halftime, the lead had ballooned to 38-13.

Puerto Rico went on to outscore Costa Rica 17-13 in the third quarter and 16-15 in the fourth to bring the game to its 71-41 final.

Kiara Quinones led Puerto Rico with 15 points and five assists, Mercedes Colon added 12 points, Sidney Santos collected 10 boards and Rita Acevedo dished five assists to go with her seven steals.