Reuters: Sports News: Basketball: U.S. women tear up Czechs to stay perfect

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Basketball: U.S. women tear up Czechs to stay perfect Aug 4th 2012, 01:13 1 of 4. Tamika Catchings (R) of the U.S. and teammate Swin Cash (2nd L) reach for the rebound with Czech Republic's Michaela Zrustova (2nd R) and Alena Hanusova (L) during their women's preliminary round Group A basketball match at the Basketball Arena during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 3, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Sergio Perez By Larry Fine LONDON | Fri Aug 3, 2012 9:13pm EDT LONDON (Reuters) - The Czech Republic made a perfect start but the U.S. women's basketball team enjoyed the happier ending as they extended their Olympic winning streak to 37 games with an 88-61 victory in Group A action on Friday. The Czechs scored the first 10 points of the game and continued to rain down three-pointers for the rest of the first quarter before the U.S. ratcheted up their defensive pressure to take control of the contest. "We started 10-0, which was a perfect start for us," Czech forward Michaela Zrustova told reporters. "For the first quarter, we were happy. For the first half, we felt we were able to keep pace with the U.S. team." Tereza Peckova's long-range basket at the end of the first quarter gave the Czech Republic a 26-24 lead, built on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. After storming ahead in the second quarter, a 10-2 run after halftime put the U.S. 58-40 in front and their stingy defense held the Czechs to just nine points in the third as the Americans (4-0) turned the game into a rout. Diana Taurasi led the U.S. attack with 18 points and Tina Charles scored 16. Zrustova had 15 points for Czechs, who dropped to 1-3. Maya Moore added 14 points and was a catalyst in the U.S. team's defensive turnaround. "That's my job. When I get into the game, I want to create chaos for the other team as well as I can. I feel like I've got some athletic ability and some long arms and quick hands," she said. "I try to get in the passing lane, get a tip, get a steal and hopefully create some momentum for our team." U.S. coach Geno Auriemma, who coached Moore at the University of Connecticut, said that was exactly why she was picked to be on the team. "Maya Moore is just a high energy player. She plays every possession to the end. Not everybody does that," he said. "For Maya, every defensive possession is an opportunity to get a steal. Every shot is an opportunity to get a rebound. It's just her make-up. It's who she is. She works incredibly hard on the floor, as hard as any player I've ever seen at any level." Auriemma's halftime teamtalk focused on stepping up on defense. "I think our defensive intensity picked up," Tamika Catchings said. "I think our third quarter was probably one of the best quarters we've had since we've been playing together. Now we just got to start off the game the same way." The U.S. will finish preliminary round action against China on Sunday before they line up for a quarter-final two days later in the pursuit of a fifth straight Olympic title. (Editing by John O'Brien) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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