Rising senior Ashley Houts spent the Fourth of July the most patriotic way possible, by representing the United States at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia.

Team USA is playing the best basketball of any team in the tournament and will put a perfect 5-0 record on the line against Australia in the semifinals today. Houts is representing her country for the second time in three years after playing for the US in the FIBA U21 World Championships in 2007.

“I don’t know how to say it but it’s been really cool and I’ve met tons of new people,” Houts said. “[2007] helped a lot because I have more experience now than I did.”

The diminutive Lady Bulldog point guard has played exceptionally well, averaging 9.2 points per game on overly-efficient shooting. Houts is ripping the nets with a .625 field goal percentage, shooting 55 percent from three and over 90 percent from the free throw line.

“This team has a bunch of superstars … and none of them have difficulty scoring or getting to the basket at any point in time,” Houts said. “We’re on a team full of kids from America who know what they are doing and are very good.”

Houts best performance thus far in the tournament came Tuesday in a 115-78 win over the Czech Republic, when she scored 13 points with two assists. She has been shooting the ball well, but says her focus is just to be a leader en route to a gold medal.

“There’s really not five out there that are any better than another, it’s just who comes in there and provides the spark at a needed time,” Houts said. “I’m just trying to do what the coaches ask of me and try to provide leadership and experience from the point guard position.”

Team USA met its next opponent, Australia, just weeks before the tournament, with the U.S. winning “pretty handily,” Houts said. Still, she has the experience to know not to look ahead.

“We’re not trying to base our future on our past performances, because right now [the score] is 0-0,” Houts said. “The next game is the most important and we know we’re gonna get everyone’s best shot.”