University of Minnesota Athletics
Team USA, Emily Fox Win Pan Am Gold
7/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Team USA used a 16-8 run in the last five minutes of the game to post a 79-66 victory over host Brazil and capture the gold medal in front of 13,200 fans at the XV Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday. Minnesota’s Emily Fox played but did not score in the contest.
Rutgers’ Matee Ajavon was the difference-maker in the game. After hitting just three points on 1-of-6 from the field in the first two quarters, Ajavon exploded for 24 points on 10-of-12 after intermission to finish with 27. The 13-point margin at the conclusion of the game was the USA’s largest lead.
Playing in front of a loud partisan Brazil crowd that was clad in yellow and green and numbering over 13,000, the 2007 squad did what three teams that came before it were unable to do - win the gold. Since claiming gold in 1987, the USA had earned silver once (2003) and bronze twice (1991 and 1999) (note-the women’s basketball competition was canceled for 1995 Pan American Games).
“This feels terrific. We came down here as the youngest team in the tournament, but they also came out here with the biggest hearts,” remarked USA head coach Dawn Staley. “I thought we had a shot of winning it because they all bought into the USA Basketball system which is a no star system. Everybody played their roles to the fullest and that’s why we won. If it was any other way I think we could of come up short today.
“The committee put together a great team, full of players who are use to playing in this type of environment. In every single game here someone else has stepped up. Tonight it was Matee’s night. We made adjustments as a coaching staff to alleviate some of the defensive assignments she had so she could do a little bit more on the offensive end and I think that was a great strategy by our coaching staff. This is a wonderful feeling, it’s a tremendous feeling.”
Fox, who will be junior next season for the Golden Gophers, averaged 6.3 points per game during the Pan Am games. She shot 50 percent from the field (9-18) and an impressive 55.6 percent (5-9) from three-point range. Fox played in four of the five games during the tournament, averaging over 14 minutes of action an outing.
Cuba defeated Canada, 62-49, for the bronze medal.
