First, the US team said, "Zdravstvu!"

Then they said, "Dosvidanniye"

And then they asked (translated from Russian) "Gold medal, please."

A monster 28-point, 18-rebound performance from Tina Charles (Connecticut / Jamaica, N.Y.) helped propel the 2009 USA Women's World University Games Team (7-0) past a determined Russia (6-1) 83-64 and on to an undefeated gold medal at the 2009 World University Games on Saturday afternoon in Belgrade, Serbia.

"I'm really proud of this team," said USA and Arizona State University head coach Charli Turner Thorne. "They stayed tough, kept working hard. These are some of the best college players in the country, and they showed it tonight. That Russian team has been playing together for years. I coached against them two years ago (at the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship). For these young ladies to come together in a couple of weeks, be so responsive to what we asked them to do as coaches, to give everything they have for their country, that was awesome."

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