LEON (Mexico) - The FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2024 featured many of the stars who were expected to shine heading into the presitgious competition.
However, there were also plenty of others who landed in the center of the global basketball radar with their standout performances in the tournament.
Agot Makeer - Canada
Not being part of the FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship journey last year when Canada reached the Final, Makeer now finds herself with a historic U17 Women's Basketball World Cup silver and a coveted All-Star Five spot.
She put herself on map with a spectacular debut performance and that had her on everyone's revised watch-list early. The guard kept putting up numbers right up until the curtain came down, accruing a double-double in the title game as Canada achieved their best ever finish.
Ines Garcia Monje - Spain
After missing out on the FIBA U16 Women's EuroBasket 2023, Monje came alive in her debut competition down the tournament stretch. Beginning to find her feet throughout, she saved her best until last with a superb showing in the Third Place Game against France.
Her 15 points, 10 assists and 4 steals proved to be the game winning contribution and consequently she found herself named to the All-Second Team of the Tournament.
Jordyn Palmer - USA
Another baller who landed on the All-Second Team, Palmer could have squeezed into the All-Star Five at one point and was certainly in the conversation. The forward was a newcomer to this USA group, not stepping out in 2023 at U16 level in Yucatan.
She impressed with her valuable and efficient production in relatively limited minutes. Palmer gave a master class in how you can be impactful if you are not wasteful when on the court and was also hard-nosed on defense assignments, too.
Justine Loubens - France
Aside from her off night in the Final of the competition which probably caused her to miss out on some individual recognition, Loubens enhanced her profile with some nice performances across the tournament and especially in the Round of 16 and Quarter-Finals.
Her overall effort is more impressive since the forward was only handed 9.4 minutes per game at U16 level when France won the European title last summer.
Sara Yamada - Japan
Playing only a modest role at the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship 2023 when she was handed only the sixth most minutes on the Japanese roster, Yamada made moves in Leon and Iraputo.
She made the All-Second Team for the tournament, partly fueled by making history and becoming the first ever player to hit double-digits in assists in two games at the same event.
FIBA