OLYW - USA’s Charles reaches 'the pinnacle'

LONDON (Olympics) - Tina Charles is just 23 years of age, yet has experienced many a high in her career already.

An NCAA champion in her days at the University of Connecticut and a world champion with the United States in 2010, Charles is now an Olympian for the first time.

The 1.93m center took part in the Opening Ceremony parade with her USA teammates on Friday night and on Saturday scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on her Olympic debut as the Americans beat Croatia, 81-56.

The experience, Charles says, has been a dream already.

"This is my first Olympics," she said.

"It was definitely an epic moment for me, something that I will never forget.

"I think it goes along with winning a national championship.

“When I was playing at UConn, just the feeling that you can't describe.

"It just showed that all these past years just came to that one night.

"This definitely was the pinnacle of everything I've been through."

What would make her time in London even sweeter would be for Charles and the Americans to reach the top of the podium, something that most people expect the number one team in the FIBA Ranking for Women to do.

It would be a fifth consecutive gold for the USA if they could pull it off.

The United States, who are led by her college coach, Geno Auriemma, have an incredibly strong squad.

"I believe coach Auriemma knows how to use every individual from this team," Charles said.

"It makes a huge difference.”

Squad depth will be a factor for the United States in a tough tournament like the Olympics and Charles firmly believes the USA are loaded with quality.

"You know you have team-mates that you can rely on offensively and defensively,” she said.

"We know we can be unselfish out there, get the ball moving and execute plays to the last shot.

"Usually when you play, you pass the ball once and everybody is looking to take a shot.

"I think we move the ball well and that our depth definitely helps us even if we get on foul trouble."

FIBA