July 22, 2011

PUERTO MONTT, Chile--Like their first game, four players again scored in double digits, as the 2011 USA Basketball Women's U19 World Championship Team (2-0) ran out to a 65-32 advantage through three quarters before settling in for the 76-53 victory over Russia (1-1) at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship on Friday afternoon in Puerto Montt, Chile.

Incoming Lady Vols Cierra Burdick (Matthews. N.C.) and Ariel Massengale (Bolingbrook, Ill.) once again got the starting nod and both contributed to the win. Burdick tossed in four points, grabbed two boards and handed out a pair of assists while Massengale added nine points, six rebounds and two helpers in 21 minutes.

In today's second Group B game, Japan (1-1) defeated Argentina (0-2) 90-71.

The United States closes preliminary round play against Argentina on July 23 at 11:15 a.m. (all times EDT). The second round, in which the top three finishing teams from each pool advance, will be played July 25-27; quarterfinals are slated for July 29; semifinals will be held on July 30 and the finals are scheduled for July 31. FIBATV.com will stream live online the medal semifinals and medal finals.

"We came out with much better intensity on the defensive end today," said Jennifer Rizzotti , USA U19 World Championship Team head coach. "We were able to take advantage of our depth and athleticism and get a lot of points off of our defense. I want this team to win because of their defense. I want them to pick up and I want them to disrupt people. I want them to dictate what other people have to run. I thought they did a much better job today of dictating what Russia did, rather than reacting to what Japan did, like they did yesterday."

The U.S. scored first and never trailed. However, both teams were sluggish to start and with fewer than four minutes to play in the opening stanza, Russia knotted the score at 6-all before the USA went on a 12-1 run that spanned the remainder of the quarter and left the U.S. ahead 18-7.