Kelly Rae Finley and the Florida women’s basketball team are preparing to welcome the seventh-ranked recruit in the nation, [autotag]Alivia McGill[/autotag], to campus, but the soon-to-be Gator had to stop and win a gold medal before starting her career in Orange and Blue.
McGill was named to the USA junior national team in May and has been in Colorado Springs practicing with the team ahead of the FIBA Women’s U18 AmeriCup in Colombia. McGill and Co. won an 11th-straight gold medal for the U.S. at the event, defeating Canada, 80-69, on Sunday.
Coming off the bench, McGill found two teammates for assists in the victory. Her best showing came in the quarterfinals against the Dominican Republic. She scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and had four assists and three rebounds. She also scored eight against Brazil during group play.
Gold Medal Gator! 🐊🥇#GoGators | @usabjnt pic.twitter.com/j8MWurlOls
— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) June 24, 2024
The Americans dominated group play, beating Brazil, Mexico and Puerto Rico by a combined 221 points, including an 80-point and 95-point win. Bracket play saw continued American dominance as the U.S. demolished the Dominican Republic, 125-27, in the quarterfinals and beat Argentina, 109-32, in the semis.
Canada was the only team that put up a real fight, even though the U.S. won, 80-69. The Canadians were the only team to outscore the Americans in a quarter, taking the second by six points.
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