UNCASVILLE (2010 FIBA World Championship for Women) - Sylvia Fowles turned on the style for the United States on Saturday as they hammered the WNBA All-Stars 99-72.
 
The Olympic center poured in 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds as a sellout crowd of 9,518 looked on at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
 
"The only person who stops Sylvia is Sylvia," USA coach Geno Auriemma said.
 
"She just does things that very few players can do.
 
"She's bigger than everybody else. She's stronger than anybody else.
 
"And as long as she's playing hard and she's focused and locked into what she's doing, nobody can guard her.
 
"Nobody."
 
The USA gave those who watched the game in person, or on television, plenty of reason to believe they will reach the top of the podium at the FIBA World Championship Women in the Czech Republic, just as they did two years ago at the Olympics when Fowles played at the Beijing Games.
 
The 6ft 6in Fowles, a member of the Spartak Moscow Region team that won a fourth consecutive EuroLeague Women title this season, has been awesome in the WNBA with the Chicago Sky.
 
She is averaging 19.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per contest this season.
 
"My first two years I was hurt, and then we had Candice Dupree and she was the go-to person," Fowles said.
 
"Now she's in Phoenix and I'm that go-to person, so I have no choice but to be a leader and do what I have to do on the floor."
 
As they showed against the WNBA All-Stars, there are plenty of go-to players in the USA Women squad.
 
One of them is Diana Taurasi, arguably the best player in the world.
 
“I thought the fact that we had 30 assists, 32 assists, something like that, is just an incredible number," Auriemma said.
 
"To be able to spread the ball around like that, share, make the extra pass, all the things you would want to see a team do.
 
"Obviously we got a lot of work to do, but for the first time being with this group, we got a chance to be pretty good.”
 
The Australians, who were blown away by the USA in the gold medal game in China in 2008, managed to take some of the shine off of the USA's weekend in Connecticut.
 
They have been holding a training camp in Connecticut and on Sunday, the Opals beat Auriemma's side in a friendly, 87-72 on Sunday.
 
Australia's Jenna O'Hea buried three of four shots from behind the arc on her way to 20 points.
 
Belinda Snell drilled three of seven shots from long range and finished with 13 points.
 
Taurasi finished with 11 points and Dupree 10 for the USA.
 
Fowles did not play against the Australians, while WNBA star Lauren Jackson didn't suit up for the Opals due to a concussion she picked on July 3.
 
Both Auriemma and Australia coach Carrie Graf used all 15 of their players.
 
While Graf and her team – bar those who play in the WNBA – will travel to Hungary on Tuesday for a four nations tournament, Auriemma’s players will go back to their clubs and continue their domestic seasons in America.
 
At the FIBA World Championship for Women later this year, both the USA and Australia will play their Preliminary Round and Eighth-Finals Round games in Ostrava.
 
The Aussies are in Group A with Belarus, China and Canada while the United States are in Group B with France, Senegal and Greece.
 
FIBA