USA BASKETBALL HISTORY
USA WOMEN’S PAN AMERICAN GAMES TEAM 1979 RESULTS
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO • JULY 1-15, 1979
Fresh off gold medals at the 1979 World Championship and the R. William Jones Cup, the USA Women’s Basketball Team entered the Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with hopes of sweeping the summer’s competitions. Boasting Olympians Nancy Lieberman and Ann Meyers, and coached by fellow 1976 Olympian Pat Head (later Summitt), the Americans looked poised for another title. The USA opened with a 124-69 rout of host Puerto Rico, as Denise Curry hit 12-of-14 shots to score 27 points and Lieberman added 21. Behind 28 points and 12 rebounds from Rosie Walker and 22 points and 11 boards from Curry, the Americans edged Canada 99-89. Eleven players scored in an 85-35 win over Bolivia, led by Carol Blazejowski’s 14 points, before rolling past Mexico 92-58 with Barbara Brown scoring 16 off the bench. The United States improved to 5-0 with a 111-73 victory over Brazil that featured seven double-digit scorers, including Jan Trombly (16) and Jackie Swaim (15). That set up a gold medal clash between two unbeaten teams, the USA and Cuba. The Americans led 46-45 at halftime but struggled at the line, making just 10-of-22 free throws. Cuba capitalized, converting 21-of-34, and pulled away late for a 91-86 victory. Walker led the USA with 27 points and nine rebounds, while Jill Rankin added 14, and Lieberman and Kris Kirchner chipped in 13 apiece. Despite the loss, the U.S. frontcourt anchored the team throughout the tournament. Curry paced the squad with 13.8 points and 7.2 re- bounds per game, Walker added 12.8 points and 5.3 rebounds, and Lieberman contributed 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds. Though denied its sweep, the silver-medal finish in San Juan extended the USA’s Pan Am podium streak and underscored the program’s depth, balance and international dominance during a golden era.
1979 USA WOMEN’S PAN AMERICAN GAMES TEAM ROSTER
1979 USA RESULTS (5-1)
NAME
POS HGT WGT AGE SCHOOL
HOMETOWN
Puerto Rico
W, 124-69 W, 99-89 W, 85-35 W, 92-58 W, 111-73 L, 86-91
Canada Bolivia Mexico
Carol Blazejowski Barbara Brown
F C F G C F G F C F C G
5-10 6-0 6-1 5-6 6-4 5-9 6-3 6-1 6-0 5-10
150 140 162 132 163 150 135 166 170 155 180 130
22 20 19 22 22 21 24 20 20 22 21 21
Montclair State Col. Stephen F. Austin State
Fairview, NJ Dallas, TX Davis, CA Bethesda, MD
Denise Curry Tara Heiss Kris Kirchner Ann Meyers Jill Rankin Jackie Swaim Jan Trombly Rosie Walker Holly Warlick
UCLA
Maryland Maryland
Brazil Cuba
New Providence, NJ
Nancy Lieberman
Old Dominion
Dallas, TX
UCLA
La Habra, CA Borger, TN Jacksonville, TX
Wayland Baptist
Texas
FINAL STANDINGS
Old Dominion
Chazy, NY
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Cuba (6-0)
6-1 5-6
Stephen F. Austin State
Emerson, AZ Anderson, SC
United States (5-1)
Tennessee
Canada (4-2) Brazil (3-3) Mexico (2-4)
HEAD COACH: Pat Head, University of Tennessee ASSISTANT COACH: Betty Jo Graber, Weatherford College (TX) MANAGER: Lea Plarski, St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley (MO) ATHLETIC TRAINER: Sherry Kosek, Stanford University (CA)
Puerto Rico (1-5)
Bolivia (0-6)
1979 USA WOMEN’S PAN AMERICAN GAMES TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
NAME
G/S
FGM-A
PCT
FTM-A
PCT
REB
PTS
AST
Curry Walker
5 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 6 6
30- 47 27- 41 31- 58 27- 68 25- 51 21- 32 21- 25 18- 29 23- 40 16- 27 10- 27
.638 .659 .534 .397 .490 .656 .840 .621 .575 .593 .370 .143 .547 .415
9- 11
.818 .500 .818 .636 .462 .706 .611 .545 .500 .667 .455
36/ 7.2 32/ 5.3 36/ 6.0 12/ 2.0 15/ 2.5 11/ 1.8 12/ 2.0 15/ 3.0 21/ 3.5 0/ 0.0 17/ 2.8 5/ 0.8
69/ 13.8 77/ 12.8 71/ 11.8 61/ 10.2 56/ 9.3 54/ 9.0 53/ 8.8 42/ 8.4 47/ 7.8 38/ 6.3 25/ 4.2 4/ 0.7
2 0 8 4 4 5 0 2
23- 46 9- 11 7- 11 6- 13 12- 17 11- 18 6- 11
Lieberman Blazejowski
Meyers Trombly
10
Swaim Brown Rankin Heiss
1- 2 6- 9
13
Kirchner Warlick
5- 11 0- 0
1 7
2- 14
.---
USA OPP.
251-459 153-369
95-160 109-171
.594 .637
212/ 35.3 93/ 15.5
597/ 99.5 415/ 69.2
56 39
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker