USA/COL - USA opens Pan Am campaign with rout

RIO DE JANIERO (Pan American Games) - Team USA wasted little time in making a big statement at the Pan American Games by routing Colombia 95-41 in its opening game on Friday.

The Group B game was never a contest as the United States raced into a 17-4 lead after just five minutes to end the first quarter with a 32-14 lead.

The lead would reach 40 points, 63-23, at half time, and at one stage early in the fourth quarter it hit 55 before the United States began to ease up in the final stages.

Rutgers guard Mattee Ajavon scored 15 players to lead five American in double digits.

Georgia's Tasha Humphrey added 14 points and seven rebounds, Louisville's Angel McCoughtry 12 points, while both Charde' Houston of Connecticut and Candace Wiggins of Stanford had 10 points each - Houston also collecting 10 rebounds.

Colombia got 17 points from Yaneth Arias but had no answer for shooting of 52.7% (39 of 74) from the Americans. The USA also rebounded Colombia 50 to 27.

"I think it was a great way for us to come out and start the Pan American Games," said Humphrey. "I think everybody played well. We really played well as a team offensively and defensively."

The United States has brought a young squad - composed entirely of college players 21 or under - to Brazil and they know not every game will be so straightforward as this.

"From what I hear, they're a tough team," said Ajavon of upcoming opponents Argentina. "I'm sure every team here has come to win the gold medal. We're open-minded and we just want to play hard."

The defeat appeared to be a crushing blow for Colombia before they had even got their campaign underway, but Arias tried to remain positive.

"We have to make some adjustments in marking for the next game," said the 6-2 forward. "To mark one-on-one is really tough. The American players are stronger than us, which made it even harder.

"Basketball is a team game. Everyone has to play well to win. We'll have hard games against Argentina and especially against Cuba. We need a good result against the Cubans if we want to qualify for the semi-finals."

However, Cuba proved they are no pushovers in Friday's other Group B game, beating Argentina 81-79 after overtime.

After a close first quarter, Cuba outscored their opponents 20-6 in the second quarter to open up a 40-25 lead at half-time. However, that was not enough to win it in normal time as Argentina kept chipping away and levelled the game at 66-66 to force overtime, only for Cuba to snatch victory.

Suchitel Avila Cazanas, a 5-9 forward who plays for Havana, led the way for Cuba with 23 points while team captain Yaima Boulet provided leadership at both ends of the court with 14 points and 13 rebounds - nine of them coming on the defensive end.

Marcela Padletta scored 16 points in vain for Argentina, who were outrebounded 45-32.

Argentina shot better from the field, going 31 for 71 (44%) compared to Cuba's 27 of 67 (40%) but gave away too many fouls, allowing Cuba to add 20 points from the charity stripe.

In Group A, Canada needed overtime to see off Mexico 74-63.

The Canadians recoverd from a 29-24 half-time deficit to tie the game aT 61-61 at the buzzer. Once the extra period began, Canada found another gear, holding Mexico to just two points while scoring 13.

Sarah Crooks led Canada with 22 points while Brisa Silva scored 20 for Mexico.

"The game was very even, but what gave us victory was that we never thought it was lost," Crooks said. "We gave a good fight and when we took it to overtime we believed we could win.

"We've been working hard for the last two months to be ready to compete in these games. All of our rivals have a lot of quality, but we're out to prove what we're capable of." Silva could not help but feel frustrated.

"Both teams played very well and the game was very balanced, but we got tired more quickly," she said. "In the second half we were tired and couldn't close the game out. I don't feel a defeat was fair as we played a great game."

The second Group A game saw hosts Brazil beat Jamaica 81-69.

FIBA