BUCARAMANGA (Colombia) – Forward Joyce Edwards was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2024 FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup after guiding United States to their 11th consecutive gold medal in the category. The 18-year-old led a balanced effort as her country defeated Canada 80-69 in the final, finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 5 steals Sunday night at Estadio Bicentenario in Bucaramanga, Colombia.
The 6’3 University of South Carolina recruit averaged 14.2 points (4th best mark in the tournament), 7.2 rebounds and 2 steals across six games. She shot 54.5 percent from the field. This was the rest of the All Star 5: Sienna Betts (United States) Betts had 15 points, 9 rebounds and a team-high 25 efficiency in the gold medal game while shooting 7/10 from the field in 27 minutes of action. Across the tournament, she finished with averages of 13.2 points per game (5th best in the event) on 65.5 percent from the field (2nd). She added 8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Betts also led the tournament in efficiency (19.8) while averaging just 16.9 minutes per contest.
Jasmine Bascoe (Canada) Bascoe was instrumental in helping Canada to another silver-medal finish. She finished tied for 2nd in scoring (14.8 points per game) and led the event in assists (4.7). The 5’6 guard shot just 6/20 from the field in the final but still led her country with 18 points, 5 dimes and 4 steals against United States.
Ayla McDowell (Brazil) Just like Bascoe, McDowell averaged 14.8 points per game across the whole tournament to finish second in scoring. The 17-year-old also grabbed 7.7 rebounds per game and averaged 1.2 steals and a block per game. McDowell had 14 points and 18 rebounds in the 3rd place game but shot just 6/17 as Brazil lost the South American derby to Argentina.
Nerea Lagowski (Argentina) Lagowski grabbed 16 rebounds (7 on the offensive glass) on Sunday to help Argentina secure the bronze medal. The 6’5 center completed a very solid week where she averaged 8.3 points, 9.8 rebounds (4th best mark in the tournament) and half a block. She shot 48.9 percent from the field and her contributions allowed her country to qualify for next year’s World Cup.
Heckel, Bourgarel, Araujo, Moscarella and Yiech round out All-Second Team of the tournament The All-Second Team of the tournament featured another crop of outstanding performers. Kayleigh Heckel (United States) was 5th in scoring (12.8 points) and 2nd in assists (3.7). She also averaged 1.3 steals. The 16-year-old shot 49.2 percent from the field and 82.4 percent at the charity stripe. Alma Bourgarel (Argentina) averaged 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists, finishing 3rd overall in dimes. Her 1.8 steals were also a Top 20 mark.
Alexia Araujo (Brazil) was the tournament’s 9th leading scorer (11.7 points per game) and averaged 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, a steal and a block. She shot 33.3 percent from long distance.
Marta Moscarella (Colombia) was dominant for a Colombian squad that finished in 6th place. The 5’11 center finished first in scoring (19.8 points per game) and steals (4.3), and 2nd in rebounds (10.8). She also had 1.3 blocks per contest. Nyadieng Yiech (Canada) averaged 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 42.9 percent from the field. FIBA