Brazil Defeats United States in Women’s Basketball

A tight game led to Brazil’s win over the United States 101-95 in the gold medal game of the America zone qualifier for the women’s basketball World Championships. U.S. Coach Nell Fortner attributed his team’s loss to Brazilian forward Maria Paula de Silva, who scored 38 points in the game: “We simply could not stop Maria Paula, the key player on the Brazilian team. Our defense was weak and we failed to apply pressure in a consistent way.”