UConn sophomore Bria Hartley scored all of her game-high 20 points in the first half and added two rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes tonight to lead the U.S. to an 82-66 victory over Brazil in the semifinals of the FIBA U-19 World Championship in Puerto Montt, Chile. The U.S. (7-1) will meet Spain (5-3) in the gold medal game Sunday at 6:45 p.m. (FIBATV.com).
The U.S. is looking to win its fourth straight gold medal at the event. Spain, who defeated Australia 55-49 in the first semifinal, is seeking to win its first gold medal.
Hartley was 6-of-12 from the field (4-of-6 3-pointers). The U.S. led 26-23 with 7:39 left in the second quarter, but it scored nine straight points as part of a 16-2 run. Hartley scored seven points in the run.
The U.S., who led 49-36 at halftime, would later close the third quarter with an 11-2 run to open a 66-52 lead. The lead swelled to as many as 19 in the fourth quarter.
UConn sophomore Stefanie Dolson added 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes for the U.S. Huskies’ freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had eight points, five rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes. UConn 2012 commit Breanna Stewart finished with six points, a game-high nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 23 minutes
Morgan Tuck, another UConn 2012 commit, was scoreless in six minutes. UConn 2013 target Diamond DeShields was scoreless in four minutes.
The U.S also defeated Brazil 49-37 in an exhibition game June 5.
Rich
Very surprised at the low number of playing time given to Morgan Tuck and Diamond DeShields. Great to see Stefanie Dolson grab 8 rebounds in 17 minutes. Starting to get the impression that KML might end up being a streaky shooter like DT3. 13-44, 5-5, 3-9. DT3 was part of 3 NCAA titles of course but she has had some horrible shooting games at UConn and in the WNBA. I can live with 3 NCAA titles with KML being a streaky shooter in a UConn uniform.
Good luck in the Gold Medal game.