Sports
U.S. Wins FIBA U19 World Cup; Former SD Standout Scores 10
Former La Jolla Country Day School standout Te-Hina Paopao was among three Americans in double figures with 10 points.
SAN DIEGO, CA — The United States defeated Australia, 70-52, Sunday to win the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup with former La Jolla Country Day School standout Te-Hina Paopao among three Americans in double figures with 10 points.
A 12-6 run gave Australia a 26-24 lead six minutes, 16 seconds before halftime. The U.S. responded with 12 unanswered points for a 36-26 lead with 1:11 left in the second quarter. The U.S. (7-0) scored the first 11 points of the second half to increase its lead to 47-28 and led 55-38 at the end of the third quarter.
"This was 100% because of our defense," said U.S. guard Sonia Citron, whose team had beaten the Australians 99-59 in a group phase game last Sunday. "Before the game coach Cori (Close) told us that this game was going to be based on our rebounding and our defense and that was the key to why we pulled away."
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"It was us locking in and giving them only one possession on offense, getting the rebounds and playing good defense."
The U.S. outrebounded the Australians 55-34 and limited them to 33.3% shooting, making 19 of 57 field goal attempts at Hodos Imre Sports Hall in Debrecen, Hungary.
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U.S. guard Diamond Johnson led all scorers with 15 points in 14:40 off the bench. Citron added 10. Guard Kate Deeble led Australia (5-2) with 13 points.
The U.S. has won eight of the past nine editions of the tournament and nine of 14 overall. It was first played in 1985, with tournaments held every four years. Since 2007, the tournament has been played every other year.
The U.S. is 93-13 in tournament play.
Players must be born on or after Jan. 1, 2002, to be eligible for the tournament.
Paopao, a 5-foot, 9-inch guard, started all seven U.S. games, averaging 9.1 points and 4.6 assists per game, second on the team and fifth in the tournament.
Paopao led La Jolla Country Day to a 32-1 record and the No. 1 final national ranking as a senior in the 2019-20 season before the state tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. She averaged 22.7 points, eight rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.3 steals.
Paopao was an All-Pac-12 selection as a freshman at Oregon in the 2020- 21 season, averaging 10.2 points, 4.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds. She led all NCAA freshmen with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.
— City News Service
