Former Grandview girls basketball star Lauren Betts helped the United States team win the silver medal at the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup Tournament in Leon, Mexico.
The Americans made it through pool play with a 3-1 record, with the lone loss coming to Brazil. That would be the rematch in the gold medal game July 9 and Brazil again prevailed 69-58.
The 6-foot-7 Betts played a key role in the performance of the U.S., which sent a roster full of college players, while other countries had older players. Betts spent her freshman year at Stanford before she went through the transfer portal and ended up with UCLA.
Betts tallied 10 points and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds in the gold medal game, which marked her fifth double-double of the tournament. She averaged 11.4 points and 10.9 rebounds.
The AmeriCup yielded the third international medal so far for Betts, who won gold medals at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary, and the 2019 FIBA Americans U16 Championship in Puerto Ayres, Chile.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 FIBA AMERICUP GOLD MEDAL GAME
July 11 at Leon, Mexico
BRAZIL 69, UNITED STATES 58
Score by quarters:
United States 16 21 10 11 — 58
Brazil 14 21 25 9 — 69
UNITED STATES (58)
Raven Johnson 0 3-4 3, Laila Phelia 0 3-3 3, Rickea Johnson 10 1-2 22, Angel Reese 1 2-6 4, Charisma Osborne 2 0-0 4, Lauren Betts 5 0-1 10, Jewel Spear 2 0-0 6, Janiah Barker 1 0-0 2, Chance Gray 0 0-0 0, Abigail Hsu 0 0-0 0, Rayah Marshall 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 13-20 58.
BRAZIL (69)
Rapha Monteiro 1 0-0 3, Taina Paixao 1 2-4 5, Kamilla Soares 10 0-1 20, Damaris Dantas 4 2-3 11, Debora Costa 2 0-0 4, Emanuely De Oliveira 5 1-4 13, Alana Goncala 1 0-0 3, Sassa Goncalves 1 0-0 2, Aline Moura 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 5-12 69.
3-point field goals — United States (3): Jewel Spear 2, Rickea Johnson. Brazil (6): Emanuely De Oliveira 2, Damaris Dantas, Alana Goncala, Rapha Montiero, Taina Paixao. Total fouls — United States 16, Brazil 21.
