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U.S. Women fall to host Germany, 70-54, in second game of IWBF World Championships

By NWBA, 08/19/18, 5:15AM CDT

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HAMBURG, GERMANY - In their first rematch since the gold-medal game of the 2016 Rio Paralympics, the German women’s national team defeated the U.S. 70-54. Morgan Wood of Gordonsville, Tennessee scored 30 points, over half of the team’s scoring output, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the German’s potent offense.

The Germans made a focused effort to shut down Rose Hollermann of Elysian, Minnesota and Abby Dunkin of New Braunfels, Texas. Defenders stayed glued to both players throughout the contest, forcing them to take several contested jumpers. In the first quarter Wood kept the team afloat, scoring 8 of the team’s 9 points in the period. Hollermann had some trouble scoring early, recording only 1 point and not hitting a shot (0-for-3) in the opening period. 

“I think we were all a little bit rusty today, that was obvious,” said Wood. “I just wanted to maintain my intensity. We’re having a bad shooting day and someone has to step up and put the team on their shoulders. That’s what I really wanted to do.”

The U.S. had no answer for Germany’s Marina Mohnen, who finished the game with a triple-double: 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Mohnen did most of her damage in the first half, racking up 18 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. Her scoring opened up opportunities for her squad’s Class 1.0 players in the paint. Most of Germany’s 40 points in the paint came off of textbook pick-and-roll action.

“We’re better than this,” said Wood. "We've got to work."

Hollermann and Dunkin struggled to find their groove in the first half, combining to shoot only 2-for-11 from the field. Germany showed no signs of slowing down as they ended the second quarter on a 16-5 run, up 41-18 at the break. Both offenses were polar opposites -- the Germans shot 58 percent compared to only 29 percent for Team USA.

“Our intensity wasn’t really there like we wanted it to be,” said Kaitlyn Eaton of Houston, Texas. “The Germans are big. They’re big and strong girls, and we’ve got to come out just as strong as they are. I don’t think we did that.”

The tide shifted slightly in the second half as Team USA outscored the Germans 38-29, but the deficit had proven too big to overcome. Lindsey Zurbrugg of Portland, Oregon provided a scoring punch off the bench with six of her 10 points coming in the third. Even as she struggled with her shot (4-of-16), Hollermann still made an impact in other categories, snagging 14 rebounds and getting her teammates involved with 4 assists.

Home-court advantage came in full effect, as a packed German crowd came to support the hometown team. The roars from the crowd, layered with literal bells and whistles disrupted the action on the court. At times, the U.S. women struggled to communicate on both ends of the courts because of the deafening noise erupting from the stands.

“It was crazy,” Zurbrugg said. “They had drums playing, all the Germans were super energetic. Whenever they hit a shot the crowd went wild. They were super loud.”

Overall, the U.S. women are 1-1 in pool play with their next game coming on Monday against China at 12:00 p.m. Eastern. The U.S. has only played China once in the World Championships, winning 61-40 back in 2010.

The U.S. Women’s Team is coached by NWBA Hall of Famer Trooper Johnson of San Lorenzo, California, and his assistant coaches are Amy Spangler of Madison Wisconsin, and Adam Kramer of Northport, Alabama. Kearstin Gehlhausen of Denver, Colorado serves as the Team Leader, with Karla Franconi of Lexington, Kentucky, filling the athletic trainer position.

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 (W)

Germany def. USA, 70-54 (L)

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

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The U.S. women play their second match of the IWBF Championships against Germany today at 6:30 AM, EST. Stay here to watch the game, get live stats and post-game recaps!

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