RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - The USA Pan American women's basketball team, led by Maryland's Marissa Coleman, swept pool play defeating defending champion Cuba on Sunday, 78-63, and enter the medal round as one of the top seeds. The Americans face the loser of the Brazil-Canada matchup, which was slated for later on Sunday evening.

The medal round begins on Monday, July 23, making it the fourth-straight day of competition for the Pan Am squads. The other semifinal contest will be between Cuba and the winner of the Brazil-Canada game.

Entering her junior year at Maryland this fall, Marissa Coleman's (Cheltenham, Md./St. John's College [D.C.]) most recent outing was a team-best 19-point performance, leading the team to victory over the Cubans, despite coming off the bench. She grabbed six rebounds, shot 3-for-5 from behind the three-point line and also had two blocks.

Coleman has averaged a team-high 13.3 points per game at the Pan Am games, shooting 57 percent from the floor. She has also grabbed 6.3 rebounds per game in the three games the U.S. has played.

Colombia was no match for the U.S., who cruised to a 95-41 win to open the Pan Am Games on July 20. The following day, the Americans also had an easy time with Argentina, recording an 85-54 victory, while Coleman contributed 12 points and eight rebounds. With both the U.S. and Cuba going into Sunday night's game undefeated, the Americans expanded an eight-point lead over the final 7:34 of the game to claim the pool's top seed.

To follow the Pan American Games in Brazil, visit www.rio2007.org.br. For more information on the U.S. team, log onto www.usabasketball.com.

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