Taurasi And Bird Earn Gold Medals At Olympics While Abrosimova Earns A Bronze

STORRS, Conn. (August 23, 2008) – Three former University of Connecticut women's basketball players earned medals at the Summer Olympics Games on Saturday. Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi earned their second gold medals each as part of the United States team while former UConn great Svetlana Abrosimova earned a bronze playing for her native Russia.

The United States earned the 2008 gold with a 92-65 win over Australia in the final game. Taurasi had seven points and three rebounds in the contest while Bird had four points and two rebounds.

Check in with USA Basketball for more information on their team. Bird and Taurasi also earned gold for the United States in 2004 in Athens.

In the bronze medal game, Abrosimova had seven points and five rebounds as the Russians defeated China 94-81.

Team USA defeated Russia in the semifinals on Thursday by a 67-52 score. Taurasi was the leading scorer for the Americans with 21 point and had nine rebounds while Bird had four rebounds and two assists.

Team USA opened Olympic play on Aug. 9 with a 97-57 win over the Czech Republic. Taurasi led the USA with 17 points and Bird had five as both players started. The United States then topped host China on Aug. 11 by a 108-63 count. Taurasi scored seven points as Bird had two.

On Aug. 13, the United States beat Mali 97-41. Bird had nine points and a rebound while Taurasi had six points and four boards. On Aug. 15, the United States beat Spain 93-55. Bird had two rebounds while Taurasi had 12 points and six rebounds.

The USA concluded pool play Aug. 17 with a 96-60 win over New Zealand. Taurasi had five points and a rebounds while Bird had three rebounds. Team USA beat South Korea 104-60 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday as Taurasi had 12 points and five rebounds while Bird had four points and two boards.

Abrosimova (back row, far left) scored three points in Russia's opening win over Latvia , 62-57, and had five points with six rebounds in a 77-72 win over Korea. She then scored seven points and 10 rebounds against Belarus and had six points and seven rebounds in a 74-64 win over Brazil. She had 16 points and nine rebounds in a 75-55 loss to Australia. Russia beat Spain 84-65 in the quarterfinals on Aug. 19 as she scored seven points and had five rebounds. She had eight points and five rebounds in the semifinal loss to the United States.

UConn was represented by a total of six athletes at the Summer Olympics.

Incoming UConn women's basketball player Jessica McCormack played for New Zealand in the Olympics. McCormack is a transfer from Washington and will be sitting out the upcoming season for the Huskies. She scored five points with five rebounds in a 76-72 win over Mali and was scoreless in an 82-65 loss to Spain. She had six points and four rebounds in a 80-63 loss to China on Wednesday and played 13 minutes in a 90-59 loss to the Czech Republic on Friday. She had two points and three rebounds in the loss to the USA and New Zealand failed to reach the quarterfinals.

Current UConn women's soccer player Stephanie Labbe was in Beijing as an alternate for the Canadian National Team. A senior goalkeeper for the Huskies, she hails from Stony Plain, Alberta. She wrote a special BLOG for UConnHuskies.com and for more information on her team, CLICK here. Canada beat Argentina 2-1 on Aug. 6 and tied host China on Aug. 8 1-1, but lost to Sweden 2-1 on Aug. 12. Canada was eliminated from Olympic competition on Aug. 15 with a 2-1 penalty kick loss to the United States.

Former UConn men's track and field standout Dudley Dorival represented Haiti in these Olympics. Dorival was in the 110 meter hurdle events and on Aug. 18 qualified for the second round. In the second round on Aug. 19, he failed to advance.