Langhorne, Harper Help U21 USA Team to Medal Round
7/5/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
July 5, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Helped by Terrapins Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper, the USA U21 World Championship Women's Basketball team ended group play at the FIBA U21 World Championship with a 5-0 record and begin competing for a medal on Friday, July 6.
Juniors Crystal Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) and Laura Harper (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) have been in Moscow, Russia, with the U.S. Junior squad attempting to defend the team's gold medal won in 2003. The Americans swept the Group B pool, which included Australia (4-1), Hungary (3-2), Brazil (1-4), Spain (1-4) and Japan (1-4).
A starter in all five contests, Langhorne is the team's leading scorer with 15.8 points per game and is second with 8.2 rebounds per game. In the opening game of the tournament, she had 24 points and a team-high 16 rebounds, leading the U.S. from a come-from-behind victory over Australia, 90-88. She was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field, tallying 19 points in the team's win over Brazil, 96-40, the following day. She reached double figures two more times, including an 8-for-10 outing for 18 points and seven rebounds in just 14 minutes of playing time in the final game of group play against Japan, 98-57.
Langhorne is leading the tournament in field goal shooting, making nearly 74 percent of her shot attempts. She ranks in the top 10 in scoring (7th) and rebounding (7th), as well.
Harper has also played in every game. In the win over the Japanese on July 4th, she was tied for the team high with nine rebounds, also contributing 13 points. She also had a big game in the 81-62 win over Spain and was on of three double-digit scorers, netting 13 points to go with six rebounds.
Harper is averaging 8.2 ppg, which ranks fifth on the team. She is also grabbing 5.6 rpg. She is tied for the team lead with four blocks and has had eight steals, the second-most on the squad. Harper is also shooting 50 percent from the floor and 81.3 percent from the charity stripe.
The medal quarterfinals begin Friday, July 6 against Belgium, who placed fourth in Group A with a 2-3 record. The semifinals take place on Saturday, July 7 with the medals being decided on Sunday, July 8. Live stats for all games are available at www.russia2007.fiba.com. More information on the USA U21 World Championship Women's Basketball team, including photo galleries, blogs and quotes, can be found at www.usabasketball.com.
-TERPS-
