1992 WOMEN'S R. WILLIAM JONES CUP

Taipei, Taiwan - June 20-28, 1992

The 1992 USA Jones Cup Team captured the gold medal in impressive style, sweeping through the competition by an average margin of victory of 20.4 ppg. in Taipei, Taiwan. With the 1992 title, the U.S. brought home the gold for the first time since 1987.

The USA opened competition against eventual bronze medalists Japan. Holding a six-point, 46-40 halftime advantage, the U.S., behind 5'10' guard Dena Head's 14 points and 6'5' center Heather Burge's 13, finished with the 87-79 victory.

Facing Republic of China's Junior Team, the USA jumped to an early 47-29 halftime lead and, with every member of the team scoring, easily cruised to the lopsided 90-59 victory. 5'8' MaChelle Joseph paced the U.S. with 15 points and was followed by 5'10' LeJuana Hardmon, 6'5' Lisa Leslie and 5'10' Andrea Stinson, who each tallied 12 points.

Effortlessly dispensing of the Republic of China National Team 92-57, the U.S. again showed a total team effort with every member scoring. Leading the USA was Leslie with 24 points.

The U.S. struggled early against a strong and then-undefeated Australian team and by halftime trailed the Aussies 31-30. However, the second half was all USA as they outscored Australia 36-25 to earn the eventual 66-56 victory. Head led the Americans with 18 points and 6'0' Peggy Evans chipped in 12 points.

The USA's next opponent, then-unbeaten Latvia, looked to be another tough opponent. However, the Latvians proved to be no match for the powerful USA contingent. After posting a lopsided 50-30 halftime advantage, the Americans sailed to the final 88-52 win. Leslie and Stinson aided in the U.S. attack with 19 and 15 points, respectively, while Joseph added 10 points.

Although New Zealand had not yet won a game, the U.S. was able to inch ahead by just six points, 29-23, at the halftime buzzer. But the USA turned on the steam in the second half and rolled to the 74-46 win with the help of Joseph's team-high 11 points.

In what would be their narrowest margin of victory yet, Stinson and Joseph combined for 50 points as the USA edged past South Korea 91-84.

Advancing to the gold medal contest, the USA again faced off against Australia. Both teams swaped leads throughout most of the first half and with the score tied at 31 apiece, the U.S. finished out the period with a 7-0 scoring run to take a 38-31 advantage into the locker room. Australia was unable to recover from its first-half deficit and the U.S., paced by Dawn Staley's 19 points, earned the 68-60 victory and the gold medal.

1992 USA Women's R. William Jones Cup