The record-breaking USA U17 women's basketball team wore down Canada 84-59 today during the semifinals of the FIBA U17 World Championships in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The talented Americans (7-0) will play Spain (5-2), which defeated Japan 91-62, for the gold medal on Sunday.
Offsetting poor shooting, the Americans set team records with 97 shots, 38 offensive rebounds and 23 steals. They wound up with an impressive 69-41 rebounding advantage and forced Spain into 31 turnovers, which were converted into 31 points.
Fifty-five of their points came off the bench as all 12 players broke into the balanced scoring column. Linnae Harper of
Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) displayed her great versatility with 11 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and four assists. Rebecca Greenwell of
Owensboro Catholic (Owensboro, Ky.) was high rebounder with 12.
The Americans defeated Australia 89-68 in the quarterfinals, setting a team record with 16 blocked shots. Individually, 6-5 Mercedes Russell of
Springfield (Ore.) tied the team record with 14 rebounds and Harper set a record with eight steals.