BRNO, Czechia – The Americans are going for gold
With a trip to the gold medal game on the line at the 2025 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup, the USA Women’s U19 National Team took down Spain, 70-58, on Saturday.
The Americans will face Australia in the gold medal matchup on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET live on Courtside 1891 and YouTube.com/FIBA.
After a game-high 26 points in the quarterfinals against France, Saniyah Hall opened the scoring for the Americans with an ankle-breaking step back 3-pointer from the left wing. The period began with both teams trading buckets, with seven lead changes in the matchup’s first three minutes. Hall put in two free throws with 6:16 left to give the U.S. a 13-10 advantage.
Spain took the lead back on a triple with 2:20 left, which made the score 19-17. Kate Harpring was scoreless on Friday but came alive in the first quarter. Her and-1 layup returned the lead to the Americans, 20-19.
Harpring’s bucket was the final score of the period as the red, white and blue held a one-point lead after the first quarter.
After a high-scoring opening period, both defenses locked down in the second quarter. Hall’s second triple with 3:20 left put the Americans on top 29-26. The U.S.’s offense gained momentum late, as Jazzy Davidson found her rhythm. Her left-wing 3 gave the USA their largest lead of the game at 36-28 with 1:22 remaining.
The American lead reached double digits with a steal and score from Jordan Lee nearly a minute later. Davidson finished the half with nine points and three steals, while tallied eight points, three rebounds and three assists. Lee closed the game with 15 points on an efficient 5-of-7 tally from the field.
“It’s all about playing together and playing as a team, and stepping up,” Lee said. “Until tonight, I wasn’t able to hit a shot, so I had to do what I could to help my team win.”
The U.S. took a 38-28 advantage into halftime. Hall led the squad with 12 points as the stars and stripes allowed just nine points in the second frame.
Hall had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists; Lee contributed 15 points and 5 rebounds and Davison added 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.
The Americans opened the second half on a 12-4 run capped by a 3-pointer from Davidson. Spain called a timeout trailing 48-32 with 7:29 left in the third period.
The U.S. ran away with the game in the rest of the quarter, taking a 23-point lead on a layup from Lee with 4:47 left. The bucket capped a 19-6 surge.
The box score.
— From USA Basketball Communications
