Highlights of the U18 National Team game the against Brazilian National Team. Features Brittney Sykes, Breanna Stewart, Allisha Gray, Morgan Tuck, Lexie Brown, Alexis Prince and Jannah Tucker. USA wins 97-36.

Brittney Sykes leads U18 team to big win over Brazil

Brittney Sykes 12 points and 11 assists paced the U18 National team against Brazil. (photo by Kelly Kline)

PHOTO GALLERY

ORLANDO, FL - To say the U18 National Team dominated in Thursday’s exhibition game against Brazil would be an understatement.  The U.S. held Brazil scoreless until the 7:56 mark of the second quarter en route to a 97-36 victory hosted at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando.

Brittney Sykes (University H.S./Syracuse) put on a spectacular display at the point guard position with a double-double performance of 12 points and 11 assists.  Breanna Stewart (Cicero-North Syracuse H.S./Connecticut) also continued to show she is one of the best shooters dropping 25 points, including 5-5 from behind the arc.

“You have to be pleased after an effort like that. We started 31-0, and our team defense was incredible”, said USA Head Coach Katie Meyer.

The Brazilian team was playing very shorthanded due to several of their top players not being able to make the trip to Florida, plus many were already fatigued from playing in the previous game against the U17 World Championship team.

Isabela Macedo had a stand out performance for Brazil with 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.  But overall Team USA, who held them to just 20 percent shooting for the game, overwhelmed the South Americans.

Other top performances for the U.S. included Morgan Tuck (Bolingbrook H.S./Connecticut) with 15 points and 5 rebounds, Bashaara Graves (Clarksville H.S./Tennessee) with 14 points and 6 rebounds and Alexis Prince (Edgewater H.S./Baylor) with 10 points.

Rebounding may be a slight weak point for Team USA.  The Brazilians out rebounded the U.S. 22-16 on the offensive boards, but USA won the defensive boards 30-20 for a slight overall rebounding advantage of 46-44 for the game.  Otherwise, it was a near perfect outing as the US shot 53 percent from the field and from behind the arc. 

The starting line up was Lexie Brown (North Gwinnett H.S./Maryland), Michaela Mabrey (Manasquan H.S./Notre Dame), Jannah Tucker (New Town H.S.), Stewart and Tuck.  Moriah Jefferson (Texas Home Educators Sports Association/Connecticut) did not play due to a sore left hand.