SportsInk.com Staff Report
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO -- Twinsburg junior Malina Howard and her USA Basketball U18 teammates defeated Brazil 81-38 last night (Sunday, June 27) to win the FIBA Americas gold medal.
The U.S. dominated the tournament, winning five games by an average margin of 55.8 points. The Americans (5-0) defeated Brazil (3-2) twice by a 43-point margin.
Howard, a 6-foot-4 center, averaged 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest in five starts with a total of eight assists and two turnovers in 77 minutes of action.
In the gold medal game, Howard had 12 points and six rebounds, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor.
"We knew that we were playing for the gold medal, and that's what we wanted," Howard said. "We had to play as hard as we could to get it. We knew that we could go out there and beat them, but we wanted to have pride and play well.
"It's like nothing ever before to know that you won a gold medal for your country. Even if it's not at the highest level it's still important, and it feels great.
"This experience gave me a lot more confidence in myself that I know I can do what I want to do when I want to do it. And knowing that I can come together and be a team leader and someone to push the team to go harder."
The 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship tournament was played at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The U.S., coached by Jen Rizzotti, crushed Argentina (91-32), Brazil (89-46) and Puerto Rico (108-44) in pool play. The Americans dominated Chile 98-28 in the semifinal game.