CANCUN, Mexico -- The USA U16 Women's National Team jumped to an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes of its opening game against Brazil (0-1) in the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship,and looked back en route to a convincing 76-20 win on Wednesday at Polifórum Benito Juárez.

Asia Durr of St. Pius X (Atlanta) led the USA with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point, and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Katie Lou Samuelson of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) added nine points and six rebounds, while DeJanae Boykin of C.H. Flowers (Springdale, Md.) had eight points and six rebounds and Lauren Cox of Flower Mound (Texas) had seven points and eight rebounds.

The USA, using various pressure defenses, forced 19 turnovers by halftime and 29 overall.

"We definitely wanted to force the tempo," said Sue Phillips , USA head coach from Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.). " I thought we were really playing at a pace that favored Brazil, so we went to more of a trapping, pressing scheme, both in the full court and half court, and I really thought that changed the game.

"I do think, however, that we need to do a better job of taking care of the basketball," she added. "There is a balance we need to find in creating havoc on the defensive end and then taking advantage of the transition opportunities, while slowing it up when we need to. We just need to get better at that."

The USA committed 23 turnovers of its own in the game, but out-rebounded Brazil 53-33.

Two free throws from Durr kicked things off for the USA at 8:23, and that lead quickly expanded to 8-0 after consecutive 3-pointers from Sabrina Ionescu of Miramonte (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Durr at 8:00 and 7:39, respectively. Brazil came to life to trade baskets with the USA over the next four minutes, and the U.S. lead stood at 13-5 after a fast-break bucket from the South Americans. The USA closed the quarter on an 11-0 run, however, to finish the first 10 minutes with a 24-5 lead.

"When coach told us to get up and pressure the ball, I think that's what changed the tempo in the game," Durr said. "I think we played well. There were times where we didn't box out, and we left our players wide open. I think if we make the adjustment, we will be okay."

The second half was much the same, but Brazil never quit fighting. The USA outscored Brazil in the third quarter 15-5 and 13-6 in the fourth to earn the 76-20 win. Nine U.S. players had scored by halftime, and all 12 registered points before the game's end.

"We definitely showed up to play," Ionescu said. "We've been training for this for a week, for this exact moment. So, I think we came out and we got the job done."

The U.S. defense also held its opponent to just 16 percent from the field and kept Brazil scoreless from deep despite 12 3-point attempts from Brazil, which was led by five points from Aline De Moura.

The USA next will play Argentina (1-0) at 6 p.m. (CDT) on Thursday and Costa Rica (0-1) at 2 p.m. (CDT) on Friday.

All games are being streamed live online at FIBAAmericas.com.

MALDONADO, Uruguay - The USA Basketball Men's U16 National Team will go for gold Saturday afternoon.

In spite of a a slow start Friday, the Americans regrouped, surging past Puerto Rico, 93-64, and into the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship gold medal game.

In the other medal semifinal, Argentina (3-1) knocked off Canada (3-1) 65-64 in overtime for the right to compete for the gold medal against the USA at 6 p.m. (5 p.m EDT).

All games will be streamed live online atFIBAAmericas.com. Puerto Rico and Canada will clash for the bronze at 3 p.m. (2 p.m. EDT).

Ivan Rabb of Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) and Diamond Stone of Dominican (Milwaukee) scored 19 points apiece to lead the U.S. squad. Also contributing double-digit scoring efforts were Josh Jackson of Consortium Prep (Detroit) College Prep and Thomas Bryant of Bishop Kearney (Rochester, N.Y.), who pitched in 13 and 11 points, respectively. Further, Rabb notched the game's only double-double, finishing with 14, including nine off the offensive glass.

The USA has advanced to all three FIBA Americas U16 Championship gold medal games, defeating Argentina in 2009 (101-87) and 2011 (104-64) for gold, while rolling up a combined 14-0 record.

"We knew Puerto Rico was going to play that way," said USA U16 head coach Don Showalter of Iowa City (Iowa). "Give them a lot of credit. They have the makings of being a pretty good team, I don't think they have the depth, but they have guys who can make shots. We kept thinking that they're not going to shoot a lot of threes tonight and they shot 24 threes. They shot 24 over their first three games."

In unfamiliar territory of being on the low end of the scoreboard, the U.S. never panicked. After leading from wire-to-wire in its first three games, the Americans fell behind 5-0 in the early part of the game. Jackson got the team on the board at 8:08 off a feed from Seventh Woods of Hammond School (Columbia, S.C.), who had a team-high four assists.

"I think they came out like 5-0, but it happens," Rabb said. "It's just basketball. Everybody's going to make a push. We pushed back and came out with the win tonight."

Following a bucket on the other end, Stone got a put-back and Malik Newman of Callaway (Jackson, Miss.) hit a jumper to kick-start a 13-4 run that put the U.S. in front 15-11 at 4:51. However, Puerto Rico wouldn't back down and from there the lead swapped hands twice before Showalter called for a time-out after the U.S. sent Puerto Rico to the line at 2:30. Getting back on the court after the time-out, the islanders made both free throws and earned their final lead of the game, 18-17, at 2:30.

"We came out sluggish at first, maybe thought they were just going to give us the game,"saidJayson Tatum (Chaminade College Prep / St. Louis, Mo.), who grabbed six rebounds. "So, coach talked to us and we picked it up offensively and defensively, especially rebounding."

V.J. King of St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) tied the game at 1:24 after he made the back end of a pair from the stripe. Then, with 36 seconds left in the first quarter, King missed a 3-pointer, but was quick to grab his own rebound and go in for two points to give the U.S. the lead for good, 20-18. Rabb got a layup with 11 seconds on the clock and the Americans closed the first quarter up 22-18.

Picking up right where they left off, the U.S. continued to stymie Puerto Rico's scoring efforts, while reeling off 17 unanswered points to claim a commanding 39-18 lead. Puerto Rico finally ended its scoring drought, which started in the first quarter and lasted 9:16, with 3:14 remaining in the half. However, the U.S. matched Puerto Rico nearly point for point and at halftime the advantage was 47-25.

Six different players scored during the run, including Rabb, who notched eight of the USA's first 10 points of the second quarter and grabbed five boards during that time, including three on the offensive end.

After outscoring Puerto Rico 26-19 in the third quarter, the U.S. eased up in the fourth quarter for the eventual 29-point victory.

In addition to Rabb's 14 boards,King and Stone grabbed eight rebounds apiece, while Bryant had seven.

Ivan Gandia Rosa scored a game-high 21 points to lead his side. The U.S. held Puerto Rico's leading rebounders Gerardo Texeira, who averaged 12.7 rebounds in his first three games, and Arnaldo Toro, 11.7 rpg. over three games, to just one and nine rebounds, respectively.