USA - UMMC soar to victory with Bird

EKATERINBURG (EuroLeague Women) - Sue Bird will be gunning for a third straight Olympic gold medal with the United States at the London Games.

For now, she's paying big dividends to UMMC Ekaterinburg, the club that lured her away from Sparta&K Moscow Region after last season.

In Tuesday's opening EuroLeague Women play-off game, Bird buried five of 10 shots from long range and finished with a career-high (in the ELW) 23 points to lead UMMC past upset-minded Good Angels Kosice, 61-55.

After joining the club in January, Bird had scored a total of just 17 points in UMMC's previous four EuroLeague Women encounters.

Against Kosice, she was the only Ekaterinburg player to reach double digits.

"There were a few moments when we stopped, but every time someone from our players pushed the whole team forward," said UMMC's Russia international Olga Arteshina.

"Sue Bird was the one to remedy the whole game."

When USA Basketball named the 21 finalists for their Olympic squad in London, Bird was on that list.

American coach Geno Auriemma called Bird the "the best point guard in the world".

FIBA