*Photo courtesy of Mark Reis and the USOPC

LIMA, PERU – USA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball defeats host country, Peru (100-16) at the 2019 Lima ParaPan American Games. The USA Women’s Team produced their 100-point scoring performance behind contributions from the full roster.

All athletes competed in the Monday evening game, with ten of twelve scoring in the contest. It was Rose Hollermann (Elysian, MN), however, who put on a scoring clinic in just over 25 minutes played. She delivered a 27-point performance, was 12 of 18 from the floor and was three for three from the line.

Several of Hollermann’s scoring opportunities were created by the adroit chair-skills of Courtney Ryan (San Diego, CA) who utilized her court vision and anticipation to set up the Peru defenders for a low seal (pick). This opened an unabated lane to the basket for the most potent scorer of the evening. Hollermann would return the favor when Peru jumped her on the wing, allowing Ryan to roll to the lane for a few lay-ups of her own. Ryan finished the game with six points.

The host country, once again, came out in droves to support their team. Their energy produced an amazing environment for the home team. Although their baskets were infrequent, the crowd was at the edge of their seat trying to will the ball in for their athletes. When they scored each of their baskets, the crowd absolutely erupted with a prolonged celebration.

However, Team USA produced a statistic that was more impressive, and that was the 44 assists they logged against Peru. Becca Murray (Germantown, WI) dished a staggering 16 assists to accompany her 14 points and seven rebounds. Murray, known primarily as an offensive weapon, used that reputation to her advantage. “I tried to use what the other teams know of me already to create opportunities for the other girls to shoot it,” she said.

The USA Women compete against Brazil tomorrow at 10:15 am central.  Brazil and USA will both enter the game undefeated with a 2-0 record. Head Coach Trooper Johnson (San Lorenzo, CA) feels the team is gelling incredibly well but expects Brazil to be a test. “We had a great overall team effort, and everyone is contributing in different ways,” said Johnson. “We cannot rest on what we have done so far. Tomorrow is a new game, and Brazil is a worthy opponent.”