HAMBURG, GERMANY – The U.S. Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team started the IWBF World Championships by dismantling Algeria, 85-13,  with a strong defensive effort. Leading the charge for Team USA were Morgan Wood of Gordonsville, Tennessee with 20 points, 7 rebound and 8 assists and Rose Hollerman of Elysian, Minnesota with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists.

"We came out to win, and we did," said Wood.

Hollermann, who scored a team-leading 12 points in the first half, showed her presence by scoring early and often from her mid-range sweet spots. Joining her in the first half were Wood and Lindsey Zurbrugg of Portland, Oregon, who scored 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the second quarter, giving the U.S. a 45-9 lead at the half. Zurbrugg finished with 10 points in the game.

"We played the offense and defense we wanted to," said Wood. "In a big win you just need to keep your composure." 

Defense was the calling card for the the U.S. women, who only surrendered one point in the second and third quarters combined. Algeria only shot 10 percent (6-of-56)  from the field. The second half witnessed a variety of line-up changes, proving to be too much for the Algerians, who are the first-ever women’s team to represent the African zone at a Wheelchair Basketball World Championships.

U.S. Paralympian Abby Dunkin of New Braunfels, Texas paced the Americans in the second half contributing 11 points, and snagging 7 rebounds and 3 assists during her 19 minutes of play.

The U.S. bench was energized by Emily Oberst of Brookfield,Wisconsin, who is playing in her first IWBF World Championship. Oberst finished with 14 points (5-of-7 shooting) and 6 rebounds. The U.S. ended the game with its youngest lineup on the floor. Bailey Moody of Alpharetta, Georgia finished with 6 points while Ali Ibanez of Murray, Utah and Shelby Gruss of Ossian, Indiana finished with 4 points apiece. The offense jelled throughout the night, shooting 64 percent from the field with eight different players scoring. 

"The first basket always  gives you huge rush, but I couldn't do it without my [Class] 1's sealing for me, " said Oberst. "We played the game we wanted to play -- our offense was running great and our defense was running great."

Joining head coach Trooper Johnson of San Lorenzo, California on the sidelines will be assistant coaches Amy Spangler of Madison Wisconsin, and Adam Kramer of Northport, Alabama. Kearstin Gehlhausen of Denver, Colorado will serve as the Team Leader, with Karla Francon of Lexington, Kentucky, filling the athletic trainer position.

The U.S. women play next on Sunday at 6:45 a.m. Eastern against Germany. The U.S. has returned home with a medal from every World Championships, except for the 2014 World Championships, since its inception in 1990, accumulating two gold medals and four silver medals. USA has played for the gold medal in six of the last seven IWBF World Championships.

2018 IWBF World Championships

Hamburg, Germany

August 16 - 26, 2018

2018 IWBF World Championships Results

USA def. Algeria, 75-38

U.S. Women’s Schedule for 2018 IWBF World Championships

8/17 vs Algeria 11:30 AM (Eastern/New York)

8/19 vs Germany 6:45 AM

8/20 vs China 12:00 PM

8/21 vs France 10:15 AM

8/22 vs Argentina 4:00 AM

The U.S. women kick off the IWBF Championships against Algeria today at 11:30 AM, EST. Stay here to watch the game, get live stats and post-game recaps!

Live Stats 

Game Stream