University of Tennessee Athletics
Graves' Bucket Ignites Runaway Win
August 15, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Aug. 15, 2012
GURABO, P.R. -- Tennessee freshman forward/center Bashaara Graves takes pride in her rebounding. It showed Wednesday, as her efforts on the glass contributed to a 99-26 win for the United States at the FIBA Americas Women's U18 Championship.
Graves, who hails from Clarksville (Tenn.) High School, led all players in rebounding, pulling down nine caroms in a lopsided victory over the Dominican Republic in Group A preliminary round action. In 21 minutes of duty, the 6-foot-2 Lady Vol rookie added six points, four assists and three steals in the tournament-opening triumph for the Americans.
During the early going, it was a back-and-forth affair, with the game standing deadlocked at 13-all with 31 seconds remaining in the first quarter. An offensive rebound and put-back by Graves just before the end of the period, however, put the Red, White and Blue up, 15-13, and changed the course of the game.
As it turned out, Graves' bucket was the ignition source for a 33-0 USA run. That spree propelled the Americans to a 46-17 halftime lead, and they never looked back.
The USA connected on 38 of 72 shots from the field, scoring 60 points in the paint, to shoot nearly 53 percent for the game. The Dominican Republic, meanwhile, could muster only nine field goals in 60 tries for 15-percent shooting. Graves also was key in leading the Americans to a 53-35 rebounding advantage, helping the USA forge an 18-0 edge in second-chance points.
Defensively, the United States blocked 16 shots and forced 25 turnovers, generating a 26-2 margin in points off turnovers.
USA will return to action on Thursday, as it plays Argentina at 3:45 p.m. Eastern time. Once again, live video and stats will be available at www.fibaamericas.com.
