Seventh FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Women - 2021
Leon, Mexico - Aug. 23-29, 2021
With a gold medal at the 2021 FIBA Americas U16 Championship from Aug. 23-29 in Leon, Mexico, the USA U16 women have claimed gold in six of the past seven editions of the event and own a 36-1 all-time record.
The 2021 team averaged 119.7 points a game, limited opponents to 31.5 ppg., and its 88.2 point average margin of victory was the largest of any USA women’s U16 team.
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2021 USA RESULTS (6-0)
2021 U16 FINAL STANDINGS
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Getting 21 points and a USA women’s U16 record 10 steals from JuJu Watkins, the USA saw all 12 players score in a lopsided 117-23 win over Chile in its first game on Aug. 23. The USA set a U.S. women’s U16 team single-game record with 39 steals and tied the U.S. record for field goals made (52-93 FGs). Jadyn Donovan contributed 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field; Breya Cunningham added 13 points and was 6-of-6 from the field; Jada Williams scored 12 points; and Delaney Thomas rounded out the USA’s top scorers with 10 points.
Reeling off the game’s first 16 points, the USA took control early in a 126-43 rout of host Mexico on Aug. 24. Watkins had a game-high 21 points as all 12 U.S. team members put points on the board. Watkins shot a USA U16 single-game record-tying 5-of-5 from the foul line, while also adding points were Thomas with 14 points; Cunningham and Olivia Olson with 13 points apiece; KK Arnold notched 12 points and Kendall Dudley chipped in 11 points.
The USA rode a 23-0 opening run to a dominating 115-36 victory over Argentina on Aug. 25 as six players reached double-digit scoring and the U.S. secured a No. 1 into the semifinals. Watkins paced the USA’s scoring effort after notching 17 points. She also added five rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocked shots. Maggie Mendelson finished with 16 points and seven boards; Jada Williams scored her 15 points in the first half and dished out a game-high nine assists; Jadyn Donovan tallied 14 points and six caroms; and Olivia Olson chipped in 10 points.
The USA ran away with a 121-12 quarterfinal victory over Costa Rica on Aug. 27, which not only advanced the U.S. squad to the medal semifinals, but also earned the USA’s berth into the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup as a top-four finishing team. All 10 available players were on the scoreboard by halftime, and the USA finished with a balanced effort that saw everyone score between seven and 18 points.
Behind another well-rounded team effort that saw all 12 players score, including six in double digits, the USA raced past Mexico 121-30 in semifinal action on Aug. 28. Cunningham led the USA with 18 points on 8-of-10 from the field, nabbed a game-high tying seven rebounds and had three blocked shots. Watkins scored 16 points, hauled in seven caroms, dished out six assists and had three steals; scored 15 points; Olivia Olson contributed 13 points; Grace Slaughter added 12 points and Thomas chipped in 10 points and six boards. Donovan, who scored eight points, dished out a game-best seven of the USA’s U16 single-game record 33 assists.
Behind a USA U16 women’s record 28 points from tournament MVP JuJu Watkins, the USA knocked off previously unbeaten Canada 118-45 in the gold medal game on Aug. 29. Also scoring in double digits were Cambridge with 18 points and Donovan with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The game marked the fifth time USA and Canada met in the U16 gold medal game, with the U.S. clinching the gold medal each time (2009, 2013, 2017, 2019 and 2021).
Watkins averaged a tournament-best 20.0 points per game over the six games, and joining her on the the FIBA U16 Championship All-Star Five were the USA’s Jada Williams, as well as Mexico’s Loriette Maciel, Brazil’s Taissa Nascimento Quieroz and Canada’s Cassandre Prosper.
Several USA U16 women’s records were rewritten the 2021 U.S. team. In addition to her 28 points in the gold medal game, Watkins’s 10 made field goals topped the previous record of nine set by no less than seven different U.S. athletes, and she also set new highs for USA U16 women’s scoring average with 20.0 points per game and steals with 5.2 per game.
As a team, the 2021 USA women’s U16 set records for points (718), points per game (119.7), field goal percentage (.526), steals per game (25.0) and free throws made (113) and attempted (170).
Host Mexico (3-3) won its first medal of any color in the history of the event with a 72-67 win over Argentina (2-4) in the bronze medal game.
Along with the USA, Canada, Mexico and Argentina qualified for the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup.
2021 USA WOMEN'S U16 NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | AGE | YOG | SCHOOL | HOMETOWN |
Kamorea "KK" Arnold | G | 5-9 | 138 | 16 | 2023 | Germantown H.S. | Germantown, WI |
Madison Booker | G | 6-1 | 175 | 16 | 2023 | Germantown H.S. | Ridgeland, MS |
Jaloni Cambridge | G | 5-0 | 125 | 16 | 2024 | The Ensworth School | Nashville, TN |
Breya Cunningham | F | 6-4 | 190 | 16 | 2023 | La Jolla Country Day School | Chula Vista, CA |
Jadyn Donovan | G | 6-0 | 16- | 16 | 2023 | Sidwell Friends School | Upper Marlboro, MD |
Kendall Dudley | G | 6-1 | 160 | 15 | 2024 | Sidwell Friends School | Manassas Park, VA |
Margaret Mendelson | C | 6-5 | 185 | 16 | 2023 | Fremont H.S. | North Ogden, UT |
Olivia Olson | G | 6-1 | 145 | 16 | 2024 | Benilde-St. Margaret's H.S. | New Hope, MN |
Grace Slaughter | F | 6-2 | 165 | 16 | 2023 | Grain Valley H.S. | Grain Valley, MO |
Delaney Thomas | F | 6-2 | 175 | 16 | 2023 | St. John's College H.S., DC | Charles Town, WV |
Judea "JuJu" Watkins | G | 6-1 | 175 | 16 | 2023 | Sierra Canyon H.S. | Sylmar, CA |
Jada Williams | G | 5-8 | 125 | 16 | 2023 | La Jolla Country Day School | Kansas City, MO |
Head Coach: Sue Phillips, Archbishop Mitty H.S., California | |||||||
Assistant Coach: Tom McConnell, Indiana University Pennsylvania | |||||||
Assistant Coach: Sophia Witherspoon, Fort Pierce Central H.S., Florida | |||||||
Team Physician: Dave Walden, Colorado Springs, Colorado | |||||||
Athletic Trainer: Nicole Shulz, DePaul University |
2021 USA WOMEN'S U16 NATIONAL TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
NAME |
G/S
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MIN |
FGM-A
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PCT
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3PM-A
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PCT
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FTM-A
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PCT
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REB
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PTS
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AT
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TO |
BK
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ST
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Watkins | 6/6 | 111/ 18.5 | 47-89 | .52 | 4-17 | .23 | 22-24 | .91 | 34/ 5.7 | 120/ 20.0 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 31 |
Donovan | 6/0 | 109/ 18.2 | 32-55 | .58 | 0-1 | .00 | 10-14 | .71 | 36/ 6.0 | 74/ 12.3 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 16 |
Cunningham | 6/6 | 101/ 16.8 | 33-53 | .62 | 0-0 | .___ | 7-23 | .30 | 34/ 5.7 | 73/ 12.2 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 12 |
Williams | 6/6 | 122/ 20.3 | 23-45 | .51 | 11-21 | .52 | 13-16 | .81 | 24/ 4.0 | 70/ 11.7 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
Olson | 6/6 | 118/ 19.7 | 25-44 | .56 | 7-21 | .33 | 4-9 | .44 | 25/ 4.2 | 61/ 10.2 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
Mendelson | 6/0 | 97/ 16.2 | 21-46 | .45 | 0-1 | .00 | 18-30 | .60 | 40/ 6.7 | 60/ 10.0 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 4 |
Thomas | 6/0 | 100/ 16.7 | 23-37 | .62 | 0-0 | .___ | 14-16 | .87 | 42/ 7.0 | 60/ 10.0 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 7 |
Slaughter | 6/0 | 93/ 15.5 | 19-43 | .44 | 6-18 | .33 | 6-6 | 1.000 | 20/ 3.3 | 50/ 8.3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
Cambridge | 5/0 | 78/ 15.6 | 16-27 | .59 | 3-6 | .50 | 5-5 | 1.000 | 15/ 3.0 | 40/ 8.0 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
Dudley | 6/0 | 113/ 18.8 | 19-49 | .38 | 1-10 | .10 | 6-11 | .54 | 25/ 4.2 | 45/ 7.5 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
Booker | 6/6 | 95/ 15.8 | 18-37 | .48 | 0-2 | .00 | 1-4 | .25 | 40/ 6.7 | 37/ 6.2 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 13 |
Bransford | 5/0 | 63/ 12.6 | 10-19 | .52 | 1-6 | .16 | 7-12 | .58 | 10/ 2.0 | 28/ 5.6 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 13 |
Team | 31/ 5.2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
USA | 6 | 1200 | 286-544 | .52 | 33-103 | .32 | 113-170 | .66 | 376/ 62.7 | 718/ 119.7 | 155 | 60 | 40 | 150 |
Opp. | 6 | 1200 | 72-325 | .23 | 6-62 | .09 | 33-60 | .55 | 170/ 28.3 | 189/ 31.5 | 32 | 215 | 21 | 19 |