BRNO, Czech Republic (July 19, 2001) -- Behind a USA Junior World Championship record 28 points from Alana Beard (Duke / Shreveport, La.) and a former record-tying 24 points from Diana Taurasi (Connecticut / Chino, Calif.), the USA Basketball Women's Junior World Championship Team (5-0) eclipsed Russia (4-1) 99-80 in Brno, Czech Republic. Also undefeated Australia (5-0) finished preliminary round play atop Group A with a 61-55 victory over host Czech Republic (4-1). The U.S., top finishers in Group B, will face the Czechs in semifinal action on Saturday, July 21, at 5:45 p.m. (all times local), while Australia will tip-off against Russia in the second of the two medal semis at 8:00 p.m. that night. The winners of those games will play for the gold medal at 8:00 p.m. on July 22, while the bronze medal will be contested at 5:45 p.m. that evening.

"It was two different games," said USA and University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma. "The first half was played at an intensity level that we couldn't really match and Russia had the game going their way. But in the second half, for the most part, especially in the third quarter, we took control of the basketball game.

"Alana Beard was the difference in the game," continued Auriemma. "She and D (Taurasi) are the two best players we have here and tonight we needed them to play their best for us to win, and fortunately for us they did. But even that wouldn't have been enough if we didn't get great contributions from Tera (Bjorklund), Stacy (Stephens) did a great job in there, Meke (Shameka Christon) came in and made a couple big shots, made a couple defensive plays and gave us a spark. As good as Diana and Alana were, the rest of the team each had a hand in it. Everyone who played contributed a little bit and that's the way I want it to be going into the weekend."

"Russia's a great team," said Beard. "We had to dig deep down inside and really want it. In the second half we came out and did it. The team stepped it up in the second half defensively, our offense was running smoothly in the second half. We came out to win."

The United States opened the game with a 3-pointer from Taurasi and took off on an 11-2 scoring run that ended with a Taurasi jumper in the lane at 6:52. However, as would be the case throughout the first half, the tide turned and Russia scored the game's next 12 points to go ahead 14-11 with 3:51 to go in the quarter. After an 8-2 run by the USA, Russia closed the first quarter with four straight points and led by one at the first buzzer, 20-19. In what was a foul-plagued first quarter by the United States, Russia earned seven of its 20 points from the charity stripe after the U.S. was whistled for eight fouls, while the Americans shot 2-of-2 from the line on four Russian fouls.

The second quarter saw the score again see-saw as neither team was able to sustain any momentum and after a 6-0 Russian scoring run to close the half, the United States found itself trailing 50-47 going into the locker room. As the first 20 minutes expired, three U.S. players were in foul trouble as University of Tennessee incoming freshman Loree Moore (Narbonne H.S. / Harbor City, Calif.) had four and Taurasi and Jessica Moore (Connecticut / Palmer, Alaska) each had three apiece. In all, Russia scored 19 points on 28 attempts in the first half, while the United States made 11-of-15 tries from the line.

The second half began with a torrent of U.S. 3-pointers as Beard and Taurasi connected on two each and the red, white and blue surged ahead 59-50 in the first 3:04. Following a Russian layup, Beard scored nine points in a USA 11-2 offensive run to deflate Russia's hopes and take a 71-54 advantage with 1:30 remaining in the third. By the time the third quarter was complete, the United States was on top 76-60 as Beard finished with 15 of her game high 28 points in that 10-minute span. Russia never seriously threatened in the final quarter and the Americans advanced to the semis with the 99-80 victory.

Beard's 28 points surpassed the previous USA Junior World Championship single-game scoring record of 24 set by Maylana Martin versus Japan in the 1997 Junior Worlds. Taurasi is now ranked tied for second in the USA record books with Martin. Additionally, Shameka Christon (Arkansas / Hot Springs, Ark.) and Tera Bjorklund (Colorado / St. Peter, Minn.) came off the bench to score 11 and 10 points, respectively. Taurasi grabbed a team high nine rebounds and nabbed three steals, while Beard passed off for a team high four assists.

"In the second half we stopped fouling and played solid defense," said Taurasi. "As long as we can get the ball up and down the court, that's when we're at our best. If they're on the free throw line, there's not much we can do. In the first half, we played too much of a perimeter game and in the second half we started slashing to the basket which opened up the threes for other people. My shot felt good tonight, some were going down and others were bouncing out. When people are open, they take the shots and that's what the team's all about."

After sending Russia to the line 28 times in the first half, the USA's defense sent the Russians to the line a mere seven times in the second half. Both teams were even on the boards, grabbing 35 rebounds apiece, while also notching 18 turnovers each. The United States, which shot 49.3 percent from the field, earned 30 points on a stellar 41.7 percent (10-24 3pt FGs) from beyond the arc. On the opposite end Russia managed only 37.3 percent of its field goal attempts and connected on just three 3-pointers the entire game.

Bjorklund, who easily saved her best game for when it really counted, shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line while grabbing six boards. Her field goal percentage tied the USA Junior record for highest field goal percentage as Sonja Hennings (1989) and Tamika Catchings (1997) shot 6-of-6 and 4-of-4, respectively.

"What it came down to the point where we were having foul trouble and I was next up," said Bjorklund. "I had to step up. I was the only choice, they were going down the line. You have that pressure on you, but I personally like that because I think I play better under pressure. It was just my turn to step it up tonight."

Beard's 11 field goals matched Martin and Lynn Pride's 11 field goal effort in the 1997 Junior Worlds, while her 18 attempts from the field are the most attempts by any U.S. player at this event. Carla Holmes (1989) and Alisha Jones (1985) each had 17 tries from the field. Taurasi's four 3-pointers ties Nikki Teasley (1997), Kristen Clement (1997) and Tiffany Woosley (1993) for most 3-pointers made. As a team the USA's 10-of-24 3-pointers set a new standard for 3-pointers made (8, four times) and attempted (23 vs. Australia, 1997).

"Playing the Czech Republic on their home floor will be tough," said Auriemma on the USA's semifinal opponents. "The crowd was great for the Czech - Australia game and I'm sure the crowd is going to be a big factor Saturday night for the first time in the tournament. But we'll have to deal with that. They're a good team, the environment is going to be tough. But, as I've said all along, if we play our game and we play as well as we're capable of playing, then we'll be okay."

Assisting Auriemma on the sidelines are collegiate head coaches Sherri Coale, from the University of Oklahoma, and Willette White, from Northeastern University (Mass.).

Defending FIBA Junior World Championship gold medalist, the United States earned the gold with an exciting 78-74 overtime victory over then-defending Junior World Champions Australia in the 1997 competition. Held every four years since 1985, the U.S. finished no better than fifth in the first three competitions. The USA's win today pushed the Americans' overall record at the Junior Worlds to 23-9 (71.9 winning percentage).

OFFICIAL BASKETBALL BOX SCORE  G A M E   T O T A L S
United States vs Russia
7/19/01 8:00 p.m. at Arena Rondo  Brno, Czech Republic

VISITORS: United States
                          TOTFG  3PT         REBOUNDS
No.     N A M E           FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP   A TO BLK S MIN
06 BEARD, Alana         * 11 18   2  4   4  4   1  6  7   2  28   4  2  0  2 37
07 STROTHER, Ann        *  2  6   0  1   0  0   0  0  0   2   4   1  3  0  1 16
08 TAURASI, Diana       *  7 17   4  9   6  8   3  6  9   4  24   2  3  0  3 28
12 POWELL, Nicole       *  1  2   1  1   0  0   0  0  0   0   3   0  1  0  0 5
13 MOORE, Jessica       *  1  1   0  0   3  4   1  5  6   5   5   1  1  0  0 21
04 PONDEXTER, Cappie       2  6   0  0   3  6   1  1  2   2   7   2  1  0  2 20
09 CHRISTON, Shameka       4 11   2  7   1  2   2  3  5   1  11   2  1  0  1 21
11 MOORE, Loree            1  2   1  2   0  0   0  0  0   4   3   1  0  0  2 22
14 STEPHENS, Stacy         2  4   0  0   0  0   2  0  2   5   4   0  1  0  0 15
15 BJORKLUND, Tera         4  4   0  0   2  2   2  4  6   0  10   0  3  1  0 15
TEAM ........................................   0  0  0              2
TOTALS                    35 71  10 24  19 26  12 25 37  25  99  13 18  1 11 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 1638  .421   2nd Half: 1933  .576   Game:  .493 DEADBALL
3Pt. FG% 1st Half:  412  .333   2nd Half:  612  .500   Game:  .417  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1115  .733   2nd Half:  811  .727   Game:  .731      0


HOME TEAM: Russia
                          TOTFG  3PT         REBOUNDS
No.     N A M E           FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP   A TO BLK S MIN
5  KHARTCHENKO, Elena   *  2  5   0  0   3  4   3  1  4   3   7   0  1  0  1 25
6  DEMAGUINA, Ekaterina *  3  7   1  1   3  7   0  1  1   2  10   4  2  1  4 33
7  SYTNIAK, Ekaterina   *  5 17   0  3   0  1   4  0  4   2  10   4  4  0  3 27
9  CHTCHEGOLEVA, Tatian *  6 19   0  0   6  9   5  6 11   1  18   0  1  1  0 31
12 ARTECHINA, Olga      *  6 16   1  5   5  6   3  5  8   2  18   2  1  1  0 33
8  KOLOSOVSKAIA, Ksenia    0  0   0  0   1  2   0  1  1   0   1   0  0  0  0 4
10 SOKOLOVSKAIA, Irina     1  1   0  0   2  2   1  2  3   0   4   1  1  0  1 9
11 LAPTEVA, Ksenia         0  0   0  0   0  0   0  1  1   1   0   0  6  0  0 7
13 SAPOVA, Lioudmila       4  5   1  1   0  0   1  0  1   5   9   0  2  0  1 17
14 PODKOVALNIKOVA, Olga    0  0   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0   0  0  0  0 2
15 TARNOULIANIS, Varda     1  5   0  0   1  4   2  1  3   4   3   0  0  0  0 12
TEAM ........................................   0  0  0
TOTALS                    28 75   3 10  21 35  19 18 37  20  80  11 18  3 10 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 1535  .429   2nd Half: 1340  .325   Game:  .373 DEADBALL
3Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1 3  .333   2nd Half:  2 7  .286   Game:  .300  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1928  .679   2nd Half:  2 7  .286   Game:  .600      0


OFFICIALS:
TECHNICAL FOULS:
United States  none
Russia         none
ATTENDANCE:
SCORE BY PERIODS:  1st  2nd  3rd  4th  OT1  OT2   TOTAL
United States      19   28   29   23                99
Russia             20   30   10   20                80


2001 FIBA Women's Junior World Championship Schedule / Results
Preliminary  Round Standings

Group A          W    L   Group B     W   L
1-Australia      5    0   1-USA       5   0
2-Czech Republic 4    1   2-Russia    4   1
3-France         3    2   3-Brazil    3   2
4-Cuba           2    3   4-Lithuania 2   3
5-Poland         1    4   5-China     1   4
6-Japan          0    5   6-Mali      0   5