Recent Centennial High School graduate Londynn Jones scored 15 points as the United States won its 10th consecutive FIBA U18 Americas Championship with an 82-77 victory over Canada Sunday evening in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The 5-foot-6-inch guard tied for second with 3.8 assists per game behind fellow UCLA signee KiKi Rice, who averaged 4.0 in the tournament’s six games, all U.S. victories.
The Americans led 57-53 entering the fourth quarter and 60-56 with nine minutes, 19 seconds to play. Rice, the tournament’s MVP, scored seven points during a 14-4 run over 3:23 that gave the U.S. a 74-60 lead with 5:36 left. The Americans were outscored 10-2 over the final 2:10.
The U.S. trailed only at 2-0 and the game’s only tie was at 5-5. The Americans led 20-16 at the end of the first quarter and 41-31 at halftime.
Forward Cotie McMahon led four U.S. players in double figures with a game-high 22 points. Boston College signee T’Yana Todd led four Canadians in double figures with 19, including a 3-point basket to conclude a 15-5 run over the final 6:03 of the third quarter.
The Americans are 65-2 in FIBA women’s under-18 competitions dating back to 1988, winning 11 championships and finishing second twice
Players in the tournament must be born on or after Jan. 1, 2004.
Jones was a 2022 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American, averaging 25.2 points per game in her senior season for the Huskies.