ISTANBUL – Nneka Ogwumike scored 18 points to lead the U.S. women's national team to a record 119-44 rout of Angola on Tuesday night and close out preliminary play at the women's world championship.
The U.S. (3-0) will next play Friday in the quarterfinals against the winner of Canada and the Czech Republic.
The Americans took it right to Angola scoring the game's first 12 points. By the time Angola (0-3) had its second basket with 3:36 left in the quarter the lead had ballooned to 24-6 and the rout was on.
The U.S. led 33-11 after one quarter and Maya Moore's three-point play just before the half made it 61-25 as the Americans put on an offensive clinic, shooting 70 percent at the break.
The lead kept growing in the second half and the U.S. broke the team record for margin of victory, surpassing the 70-point win over Senegal in 1990.
Point guard Sue Bird set her own mark, playing in a U.S. record 28th world championship game, breaking a tie with Tamika Catchings, Katie Smith and Delisha Milton-Jones. Bird is playing in a team-record fourth worlds.
African teams are still looking for their first win in a preliminary round game of the world championship. All their wins have come in the classification rounds without a chance for a medal at stake.
These two teams have only met one other time and that was in the 2012 London Olympics, a 90-38 U.S. win.
In other action Tuesday in Group D, Serbia edged China 65-63; Australia routed Belarus 87-45 to win Group C while Cuba beat Korea 73-57 to advance to the qualifying round. Spain won Group A topping the Czech Republic 67-43 and Brazil advanced to the next round beating Japan 79-56. Turkey, which already clinched Group B, beat Mozambique 64-54 and France edged Canada 63-59.
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