ON THE ROAD TO ATLANTA: Ukrainian women hoopsters hit the U.S. wall (04/14/96)

ON THE ROAD TO ATLANTA

Ukrainian women hoopsters hit the U.S. wall

by Roman Woronowycz

FORT MILL, S.C. - The United States women's basketball team put on a clinical display of hoops here on March 28 and easily dismantled a jet-lagged Ukrainian team that had practiced only once as a unit.

The Ukrainian team, in the United States for a series of pre-Olympic basketball exhibitions, never got untracked and at times looked bewildered in going down 93-69 to a powerful U.S. squad. The team had one practice session after flying into the United States from Ukraine two days earlier. A few days ago they had been competing against each other in the Ukrainian national championships.

"Our national championship finished only three days ago, so we have not had time to practice as a team," said Ukraine's head coach, Volodymyr Ryzhov. "As a result many of our players did not play to their potential."

The team looked unnerved by the sellout crowd, many of whom were there looking to whet their appetites for the NCAA Final Four women's basketball finals that began the following day.

It was close for one half. With 4:49 to go and down by 15, the Ukrainians, the current European champions, responded with 10 unanswered points. They cut the lead to five when Maryna Tkachenko hit a jump shot and, after a Liudmila Nazarenko rebound, buried a three-pointer. Tkachenko, a member of the 1992 Unified Team that won the gold in Barcelona was the only Ukrainian who consistently pierced the U.S. defensive curtain. But the Americans, undaunted, came right back, and at the half held a 13 point advantage.

After that it was all U.S. The Americans came on like a locomotive at full throttle - with powerful rebounding by center Lisa Leslie and fast breaks by guard Dawn Staley, along with timely outside shooting by her back court partner Ruthie Bolton, who made three of five three-pointers and finished with 18 points.

The 6-foot-5-inch tall Leslie, who is emerging as the dominant U.S. player, led the first half charge with 21 points and finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds. She frustrated center Nazarenko, who also stands 6 feet 5 inches, limiting her to12 points for the game. Midway into the second half Nazarenko was looking for the American center whenever she went to the rim.

Ukraine's women could not get their inside game to work. With little team speed but with a decided height advantage, they had to pound the boards and find the easy shots for any chance at overcoming the U.S. team's superior speed, shooting and ball-handling. More often they would mishandle passes or fail to hold on to rebounds.

But it was the shooting of Bolton that kept the Ukrainians frustrated. Every time they made a run she would put down a three-pointer and release the little pressure the U.S. team was feeling.

Midway through the second half it was all but over, the U.S. holding a commanding 22-point lead and the Ukrainian team visibly tuckered out; Tkachenko and company trudging rather than sprinting up the court, their lack of physical conditioning and jet-lag glaringly obvioius. After leading the team with 21 points in the first half, Tkachenko could only muster four more. The Ukrainian team combined to shoot an anemic 42 percent from the field for the game.

Afterwards, Coach Ryzhov was requitious: "I like this American team, they are very good. It is going to be tough to compete against them [in the Olympics]," he said, and added, "The United States has been preparing for seven-eight months, they are physically in very good shape. Our team has not had that opportunity.

He was candid about his team's loss. "The talent is there. We have plenty of good and talented players, but we do not have the chance to train together and play at the most competitive levels...The national championships of Ukraine are not particularly high caliber competitions."

He explained that not only has his team not played together but that several key players on his team are out with injuries. He said the full squad will be intact by May (see interview).

This was the fifth meeting between the two squads. The U.S. defeated the Ukrainian team four times during a tour of Ukraine and Russia in January by an average 23 points. The U.S. is 36-0 in international play since the team was formed in May 1995.

Ukraine's women beat Italy to take the 1995 European championships, after overwhelming the Russians in the semifinals. The championship assured them one of the 12 spots at the Olympics.

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