USA Continue Strong Play in Second Game of FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup with 138-38 Win Over Puerto Rico

Looking to continue their dominant play at the 2025 FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup after Monday’s win over Venezuela, the United States followed a similar formula for success to take down Puerto Rico. The Americans played suffocating defense from the opening tip to make big runs throughout the game, ultimately summiting their former single-game scoring record of 128 with 138 points in the contest. Reece Gilpatrick (6'4''-F-2010) led the scoring from the bench with 20 points on perfect 9-for-9 shooting. Ivana Wilson-Manyacka (6'1''-F-2009, college: USA NT U16) once again was effective with 18 points, joined by Tatianna Griffin with 18 as well. Wilson Manyacka also tied JuJu Watkins’ U.S. single-game steals record for the event with 10. The USA set the tone in the first quarter with a true team effort. Ten different Americans contributed to the scoring column in the first 10 minutes, Wilson Manyacka leading the way with 13 points. The United States put together two separate 17-0 scoring runs in the first quarter, creating a large early lead. “We have a team that’s deep, and mobile and that can defend,” USA head coach Steve Gomez said. “We just had a really good first quarter creating turnovers, and [we] just create easy shots when you turn them over in the back court.” Wilson Manyacka also established herself as a defensive leader in this quarter, racking up nine steals. This combination of team scoring and 14 total steals led to a 46-9 lead at the break. The second quarter saw much of the same result for the Americans. Despite dropping back into a zone defensively, the United States still forced 11 turnovers, scoring 16 points off of them. Arianna Robinson (5'10''-G-2010) and Olivia Jones picked up some of the scoring for the United States with 11 and 8 points apiece in the second quarter. Wilson Manyacka earned her 10th steal of the game as well, tying Watkins, who set the record in 2021. The Americans kept pushing the score up behind these impressive performances, leading 77-20 at the half. “We all played together. We pushed the ball, we defended at a high level,” Morghan Reckley (5'7''-G-2009) said. “Offensively we moved the ball around, our posts really got to it.” The third quarter saw the U.S. build to a 115-35 lead. More players stepped up offensively again in this quarter, Griffin scored 11 points on three made 3-pointers, and Reckley dropped in eight points in the final two minutes of the quarter. Jordyn Haywood (6'1''-F-2010) also hit a 3-pointer which ensured that all 12 players for the United States scored in the game. With the game completely out of reach for Puerto Rico by the fourth quarter, the United States just had to play out the final 10 minutes to improve to 2-0. Gilpatrick scored nine points in the quarter as the Americans chased their single-game scoring record, eclipsing it with about four and a half minutes to go. In another dominant showing the Americans got eight scorers into double figures, scored 92 points in the paint and won by a final score differential of 100 points. “I thought it was a good effort, I appreciate their effort all the way to the end,” Gomez said. “Even playing halfcourt defense, I thought we kept a good defensive intensity. [I] appreciate the effort, we got a big lead and were able to just continue playing well.”
Courtesy of: usab.com