Colorado Springs, Colo. – University of Hartford head women's basketball coach Jennifer Rizzotti has struck gold once again, leading the USA Women's U18 National Team to a Gold Medal at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Rizzotti served as the USA head coach for the first time in her coaching career, after serving as an assistant with the gold-medal winning U18 team in 2006.

With an 81-38 victory over Brazil on Sunday, June 27 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., the USA finished 5-0 in the tournament and won its fourth straight gold medal against the top 18-and-under international competition in the FIBA Americas zone, including Central, North and South America.

“I was nervous going into this process, and I know, looking back now at our margin of victory, that maybe I shouldn't have been as nervous,” said Rizzotti. “But you want this team to meet the expectations of the accomplishments of teams in the past, and you want this team to measure up as one of the greats to ever play at U18. After three weeks of being here and working hard, this team improved at a very rapid rate, and I was very proud at what it turned out to be.”

The victory over Brazil caps a tournament in which the USA flourished from the start. In winning five straight games, the USA outscored its opponents, 467-188, for an average margin of victory of 55.8 points – by far a tournament best.

In addition to that, the USA led the Championship in 11 different statistical categories, including scoring offense (93.4 ppg.), field goal percentage (.486), rebounding margin per game (plus-33.2) and assists per game (20.4). Further, seven of the tournament's top 10 leaders in field goal percentage were U.S. players.

“Sometimes at a young age, I think you rely so much on individual talent,” said Rizzotti. “This group really came together and I think we were much better because we learned to play as a team.”

The gold medal is the USA's fourth straight in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship, going back to 2000, when it was still known as the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifier. Since the USA first began competing in the tournament in 1988, it has amassed a 38-2 record in tournament games and has won gold medals in 1988, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Also, as one of the top four finishing teams in this year's FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women, the USA earned a berth in the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championships next summer in Chile.

Brazil, the runner-up, also qualified, as did Canada, which beat Chile 81-42 for third place. Since Chile, which finished fourth, was among the tournament's top four finishers but automatically qualified for next year's U19 Worlds as the host country, the fourth qualifying berth went to Argentina, which defeated Mexico, 64-51, for fifth place.

Chiney Ogwumike, second among the Championship's overall field goal percentage leaders (.609), led the USA in scoring with 13.2 points per game, which ranked fifth in the tournament field. Bria Hartley ranked eighth with 10.6 points per game, while 16-year old Malina Howard, who was the second-youngest player on the team, led the tournament in field goal percentage (.625).

Not coincidentally, Howard led the USA against Brazil with 12 points. Hartley scored 11 points in the game, as did Theresa Plaisance. Diamond DeShields, the youngest player on the team, scored 10 against Brazil, while Alexis Jones and Ogwumike each had nine points.