STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford won either way. Nneka Ogwumike '12 and the United States claimed the country's third consecutive FIBA World Cup gold medal, beating senior Alanna Smith and Australia 73-56 in San Cristobal de la Laguna, Spain on Sunday.
The world title was the second for Ogwumike, who also was on the U.S. team that defeated Spain 77-64 for gold in 2014, and earned the Americans a berth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Smith became the sixth Stanford player to appear in a FIBA World Cup in helping Australia to its best finish since winning it all in 2006. It was the 22-year-old's second go-around with her country's Senior Women's National Team. She made her debut and won silver at last summer's FIBA Asia Cup in Bangalore, India and was one of two Australian players to score in double figures for the tournament, averaging 10.8 points on 58.3 percent shooting and 5.3 rebounds.
Ogwumike, the 2016 WNBA MVP, appeared in all six games and averaged 7.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.6 minutes. She had four points, three rebounds and three assists in the final, including a nifty no-look pass to set up Morgan Tuck for a layup midway through the fourth quarter.
Smith was Australia's best player Sunday, scoring a team-high 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting to go with two blocks. One of just a handful of collegians at the tournament, Smith averaged 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in six games, which included another 10-point performance in the group stage against Argentina.
No. 2 in the world, but No. 1 in our hearts. ??????????
— Stanford Women's Basketball (@StanfordWBB) September 30, 2018
Amazing to watch Alanna ball out for @BasketballAus on that stage and cannot wait to have her back. #GoStanford #FIBAWWC pic.twitter.com/UigAAWvVNF
An All-Pac-12 performer in 2017-18, Smith is Stanford's leading returning scorer and rebounder. She started all 35 games as a junior, averaged 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.77 blocks in 28.4 minutes and finished eighth in the league with seven double-doubles. Smith is one of 12 letterwinners back on a Cardinal team that went 24-11 and advanced to its 11th consecutive Sweet 16 last season.