BANGKOK, Thailand – Freshman Fran Belibi won her third international gold medal on Sunday when the United States beat Australia in overtime, 74-70, to win its eighth FIBA U19 World Cup title and seventh in the past eight tournaments.
Belibi averaged 7.7 points on 68.8 percent shooting (22-of-32) and 7.3 rebounds in seven games at the event in Bangkok. In the group stage against South Korea, the 6-foot-1 forward made every one of her eight attempts from the floor and scored a team-high 18 points in an 89-67 win. In a 95-50 victory over Hungary in the very next game, Belibi went 5-of-6 from the field and had an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double.
The No. 19 overall prospect in the country according to espnW HoopGurlz, Belibi previously won gold medals with the United States at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup and 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship. Last summer at the World Cup in Minsk, Belarus she averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds. She averaged 4.8 points and 5.8 rebounds at the Americas U16 Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Belibi, who had a 16-point, 15-rebound double-double in April's Jordan Brand Classic, is part of the Cardinal's heralded recruiting class, which is ranked second in the country. The first woman since Candace Parker in 2004 to win the Powerade Jam Fest dunk title at the McDonald's All-American Game, Belibi scored 21.8 points per game as a high school senior and added 12.3 rebounds while earning Gatorade Player of the Year honors in Colorado.
She is one of a number of Cardinal suiting up for national teams this summer. Alumna Karlie Samuelson '17 led Great Britain to a fourth-place finish at 2019 FIBA Women's EuroBasket in early July and a berth in next year's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. Both Kiana Williams (United States) and Alyssa Jerome (Canada) will play for their countries at the Pan American Games from Aug. 6-10 in Lima, Peru.
Belibi is the 11th Cardinal to appear in a FIBA U19 World Cup and the eighth to win a gold medal. Sonja Henning (1989), Julie Zeilstra (1989), Rachel Hemmer (1993), Carolyn Moos (1997), Candice Wiggins (2005), Kayla Pedersen (2007) and Nneka Ogwumike (2009) all finished atop the podium with the United States. Nicole Powell and the U.S. finished third in 2001, Alanna Smith took home bronze with Australia in 2015 and Alyssa Jerome captained Canada to another bronze in 2017.
