The U.S. emerged victorious in the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup, clinching the gold medal with a thrilling 69-66 win over Spain in Madrid. The game reached its climax when Kiki Rice, the talented guard from UCLA, secured an insurance free throw with just seven seconds remaining after Cotie McMahon, the dynamic forward from Ohio State, made a tie-breaking layup with 22 seconds left on the clock.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the U.S. held a slim 54-52 lead. The team extended their advantage to 62-54 with a remarkable 8-0 run, culminating in a 3-point basket by incoming Notre Dame freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo, assisted by Rice, with 6:14 remaining on the clock.
Spain, however, fought back boldly, going on a 7-0 run of their own. Guard Elena Buenavida contributed five points during this run, reducing the deficit to a single point at 62-61 with 3:46 left in the game. But McMahon ended Spain’s run with a determined driving layup at the 3:03 mark.
The score was tied once again at 66-66 when Buenavida made an impressive 3-point play with 1:25 remaining. Then, with just 45 seconds left, guard Iyana Martin Carrion delivered a driving layup to level the scoreboard.
Spain failed to take advantage of the possession following McMahon’s basket, as Hidalgo stole the ball from guard Alicia Florez Getino with just 11 seconds left to play. Similarly, Spain was unable to get a shot off after Awa Fam, their talented center, grabbed the rebound following Rice’s missed free throw.
McMahon led the American team with an impressive 16 points, shooting six out of eight from the field and making four out of five free throws. University of South Carolina sophomore guard Chloe Kitts also reached double figures with 15 points, shooting seven out of twelve from the field.
Carrion was the top scorer of the game, accumulating 19 points, while Buenavida added 16 and Fam contributed 11. The electrifying match was witnessed by a crowd of 7,033 fans at Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad Madrid.
Rice, who made significant contributions throughout the tournament, scored six points, making two of five shots and two of three free throws. Her UCLA teammate, sophomore guard Londynn Jones, provided three points in 16 minutes and 30 seconds of play off the bench.
The U.S. completed a perfect 7-0 record in the tournament, with Rice starting in all seven games and averaging 10 points per game. The team is currently ranked first by FIBA, basketball’s international governing body. On the other hand, Spain, with a 6-1 record, is ranked fourth in the girls’ rankings, based on recent performances in international tournaments.
The U.S. has dominated the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup, winning three consecutive editions and capturing the gold medal in nine out of the last ten tournaments, as well as ten out of the fifteen that have been held since the inception of the competition in 1985. Initially played every four years, the tournament became a biennial event in 2007.
Players participating in the tournament must have been born on or after January 1, 2004.
This gold medal marks the fourth international victory for Rice and the third for Jones. The duo previously won gold medals together in the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship. Rice also represented the U.S. in the 2022 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup, where she won gold.
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