Seeing Becky Hammon on the Russian side was exactly what the Americans needed.

Diana Taurasi scored 21 points and the United States beat the Russians, 93-58, last night in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament at Haining, China.

In a much-hyped matchup against her native country, Hammon scored 10 points, but her adopted team was no match for the Americans. This was the first meeting between the U.S. team and Russia since the Russians beat the Americans in the 2006 world championship semifinals.

"She made her choice, and that was up to her," U.S. co-captain Katie Smith said. "We're here to represent our country. We have a nice rivalry with Russia with or without her. It's always been a battle whether she's here or not; we'll always bring our best."

Hammon wasn't in the 29-player pool used to select the U.S. Olympic team. So she chose another option: playing for Russia.

A South Dakota native, Hammon competes for a Russian club team during the winter and became a naturalized citizen there. Since she hadn't played for the United States in any major FIBA-sanctioned international events, she was allowed to compete for Russia in the Olympics, which begin Friday.

"I think the pre-game was worse than anything," Hammon said. "Once the ball went up, it was just another basketball game."

ELSEWHERE

Track and Field: American sprinter Tyson Gay says his hamstring is feeling better and he'll be healthy and ready to go when the Olympic 100-meter races start next week. Gay, the defending world champion in the 100 and 200 meters, hurt his hamstring early last month at the U.S. Olympic trials while running in preliminary heats in the 200.

Women's Soccer: Hanna Ljungberg will be replaced on Sweden's Olympic women's soccer squad because of a hamstring injury. Ljungberg, 29, described the injury as a "cramp" when she first felt pain in her right hamstring two weeks ago, said Dr. Johan Leandersson, the Swedish team physician.

Baseball: Mike Hessman hit two of the United States' four home runs last night, and the Americans capped their stateside preparations for Beijing by scoring nine runs in the fifth inning of a 17-5 exhibition rout of Canada at Durham, N.C.