The U.S. won the gold medal in the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup with a 69-66 victory over Spain Sunday in Madrid, with a roster including June La Jolla Country Day School graduate Breya Cunningham.
Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon made the tie-breaking layup with 22 seconds to play and Spain was unable to get a shot off on its final two possessions as the U.S. won the tournament for the third consecutive time and ninth time in the past 10 editions.
The U.S. entered the fourth quarter with a 54-52 lead. Incoming Notre Dame freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo’s 3-point basket with six minutes, 14 seconds remaining capped a tie-breaking 8-0 run that gave the U.S. a 62-54 lead.
Guard Elena Buenavida scored five points during Spain’s ensuing 7-0 run that cut the deficit to 62-61 with 3:46 left. McMahon ended the run with a driving layup with 3:03 to play.
Spain tied the score, 66-66, on Buenavida’s 3-point play with 1:25 remaining and guard Iyana Martin Carrion’s driving layup with 45 seconds left.
Spain did not get a shot off on the possession following McMahon’s basket, with Hidalgo stealing the ball from guard Alicia Florez Getino with 11 seconds to play.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice made the first of two free throws following Hidalgo’s steal. Center Awa Fam grabbed the rebound after Rice missed her second free throw but Spain was again unable to get a shot off.
McMahon led the Americans with 16, making six of eight shots and four of five free throws. University of South Carolina sophomore guard Chloe Kitts was the other American in double figures with 15 points, making seven of 12 shots.
Carrion led all scorers with 19, while Buenavida added 16 and Fam 11 in front of a crowd announced at 7,033 at Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad Madrid.
The 6-foot, 4-inch Cunningham, who will play for the University of Arizona, did not take a shot, attempt a free throw or grab a rebound in 2:15 off the bench Sunday. She averaged 7.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in seven tournament games, all as a reserve.
Cunningham was a late addition to the team, replacing incoming LSU freshman Aaliyah Del Rosario who was no longer able to participate, according to USA Basketball.
The gold medal was the third for Cunningham in international competition. She was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. teams in the 2021 FIBA Women’s U16 Americas Championship and 2022 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup.
The U.S. was 7-0 in the tournament. The U.S. has won 21 consecutive games since an 86-82 loss to Russia in the 2017 gold medal game.
Spain was 6-1. It is fourth in the girls rankings compiled by FIBA, basketball’s international governing body, based on recent performances in international tournaments. The U.S. is ranked first.
Players in the tournament must be born on or after Jan. 1, 2004.
The tournament was first played in 1985, was played on a quadrennial basis through 2005 and a biennial basis since 2007.
