Coleman, U.S. Women Win Gold at Pan Ams
7/24/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
July 24, 2007
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Maryland's Marissa Coleman became the third Terrapin women's basketball player to win gold this summer, helping the U.S. Pan American Team capture the top prize with a 79-66 victory over host Brazil in Rio de Janiero.
The U.S. emerged out of pool play as the top seed in Group B, after defeating defending champion Cuba, 78-63, in the final round-robin game. In the semifinals, the team cruised passed Canada, 75-59, setting up a matchup between Brazil and the U.S.
Over 13,000 mostly-Brazilian fans were in attendance for the gold-medal tilt. The margin was close for most of the way, with Brazil taking a 19-18 lead after the first quarter. It maintained its one-point lead at the half, 34-33, then went ahead, 53-49, after the third quarter. After the score was tied at 55-55 with just under nine minutes remaining in the final period, the Americans never looked back, taking its first double-digit lead with 13 seconds left in the game at 77-66, then finished out the contest by the final margin of 79-66.
Rising junior Marissa Coleman (Cheltenham, Md./St. John's College [D.C.]) adds a fourth gold medal to her collection. She won gold medals with the U.S. at the 2004 Junior World Championship Qualifying tournament. She won two more the following summer at the 2005 International Sports Invitational and at the 2005 FIBA U19 World Championship.
Coleman played in all five games at the Pan Am Games. Averaging 9.4 points and 4.2 rebounds, she shot a team-best 69 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range. Her best outing was against the Cubans, when she tallied a team-high 19 points to lead the Americans to victory.
Earlier this summer, Crystal Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) and Laura Harper (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham), both seniors this fall, won gold medals at the FIBA U21 World Championship in Russia.
The Pan Am Games completes the summer competition for the Terps, who will look forward to preparing for the 2007-08 campaign, which kicks off with the Preseason WNIT against Princeton on Friday, Nov. 9 in Comcast Center. Maryland has also announced a matchup against Oklahoma on Sunday, Nov. 11 for the State Farm Tip-Off Classic to be played in Chapel Hill, N.C., and a home contest vs. Ohio State on Friday, Nov. 30 for the first Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Terps return four starters from last year's squad, which went 28-6 and made its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. For information on tickets for Maryland women's basketball games, visit www.umterps.com.
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