By R.L. Bynum
The young United States team could deal with any challenge at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup — except a veteran group from Brazil. As a result, the Americans, including UNC senior guard Deja Kelly, had to settle for a silver medal.
The Americans, with seven players making their senior international debuts and no player older than 22, suffered their second tournament loss to the seasoned Brazilians, 69–58 in Sunday’s gold medal game at Domo de la Feria in León, Mexico.
“Playing for Team USA has always been a dream of mine since I was young, so to be able to represent my country has been such an honor!” Kelly said on social media. “Even though we fell short of our goal, I’ve learned so much from this experience and will forever be grateful!”
The USA (5–2), which suffered its only pool-play loss 67–54 on the Fourth of July to Brazil, got 22 points from Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson, but she didn’t get enough help offensively. UCLA’s Lauren Betts added 10 points but LSU’s Angel Reese was held to four points and six rebounds on 1 of 6 shooting.
The Americans, with an average age of 20, had won the gold medal in the previous two AmeriCups. While many Brazilian players had played together for years, the USA team had 15 practices before the competition.
“I think we brought a young team knowing that we were really going to put a challenge in front of them,” U.S. coach Kamie Ethridge said. “I hope they take away that they shouldn’t back down to anybody, USA Basketball shouldn’t. We shouldn’t be satisfied with [silver], that’s just in us. We need to win gold. But we put this team in a position that it was almost an impossible thing that we were asking them to do, and they almost did it anyway. And so I don’t think we could have done any more.”
Kelly finished her first international competition, a rigorous seven games in eight days, collecting four points, three rebounds and an assist. She missed all seven shots, including two from 3-point range, in 23 minutes, 21 seconds. Kelly was +2, one of only three Americans with positive plus/minus ratings.
Although the most veteran of the Brazil team (7–0), 41-year-old center Érika De Souza (who has played in three Olympics and four World Championships), got ejected in the first quarter for two technical fouls, her teammates had plenty of firepower to earn the country’s first AmeriCup gold medal since 2011.
South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso led the Brazilians with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Emanuely De Oliveira, a 23-year-old forward, scored 13 points and Damiris Dantas, a 30-year-old forward, added 11 points.
“[Brazil] just plays with such pace and just keep coming at you,” Ethridge said. “It felt like a really experienced team against someone still trying to figure it out a little bit too much. I’m disappointed that we couldn’t win the gold, but I thought the effort was amazing from our team and the entire time, especially tonight. They’re very upset that they couldn’t take home the gold. They have a lot of pride in representing USA Basketball and I think this will be a positive experience for them.”
Brazil seized control with a 21–7 run to start the second half and took a 60–47 lead into the fourth quarter. A 3-pointer from 28-year-old Alama Goncalo with 4:10 remaining shoved Brazil’s lead to 67–51.
The USA trailed 8–4 when Kelly came into the game for the first time with 5:16 left in the first quarter. The Americans scored the next six points, getting an assist and two free throws from Kelly.
Kelly spearheaded a fast break that led to a follow shot at the buzzer to give the Americans a 16–14 lead after one quarter.
Two more Kelly free throws with 4:24 remaining in the first half pushed the U.S. lead to 29–24.
Although Kelly didn’t start, she played more than 13 minutes in the first half as the Americans led 37–35 at halftime.
| Date | Day/month | Score | Opponent/event (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 8 | Wednesday | W, 102–49 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 74–70 | vs. Davidson | 2–0 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 62–32 | vs. Hampton | 3–0 |
| 18 | Saturday | W, 68–39 | vs. Elon | 4–0 |
| Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. | ||||
| 24 | Friday | W, 54–51 | Vermont | 5–0 |
| 25 | Saturday | L, 63–56 | No. 15 Kansas State | 5–1 |
| 26 | Sunday | L, 65–64 | Florida Gulf Coast | 5–2 |
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 65–58 | vs. No. 1 South Carolina | 5–3 |
| December | ||||
| 6 | Wednesday | W, 81–66 | vs. UNC Greensboro | 6–3 |
| Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn. | ||||
| 10 | Sunday | L, 76–64 | No. 10 Connecticut | 6–4 |
| ——————— | ||||
| 15 | Friday | W, 96–36 | vs. Western Carolina | 7–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 19 | Tuesday | W, 61–52 | No. 18 Oklahoma | 8–4 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 31 | Sunday | W, 82–76 | vs. Clemson | 9–4, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 75–51 | vs. No. 22 Syracuse | 10–4, 2–0 ACC |
| 7 | Sunday | W, 61–57 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | 11–4, 3–0 ACC |
| 11 | Thursday | L, 70–62 | at Florida State | 11–5, 3–1 ACC |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 81–68 | vs. Virginia | 12–5, 4–1 ACC |
| 18 | Thursday | W, 73–68 | at Georgia Tech | 13–5, 5–1 ACC |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 79–68 | vs. No. 23 Louisville | 14–5, 6–1 ACC |
| 25 | Thursday | W, 66–61 | vs. Miami | 15–5, 7–1 ACC |
| 28 | Sunday | L, 81–66 | at Virginia | 15–6, 7–2 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | L, 63–59 | at No. 11 N.C. State | 15–7, 7–3 ACC |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 70–61, OT | vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech | 15–8, 7–4 ACC |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 68–60, OT | at Duke | 15–9, 7–5 ACC |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 75–62 | vs. Pittsburgh | 16–9, 8–5 ACC |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 58–50 | at Wake Forest | 17–9, 9–5 ACC |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 80–70 | vs. No. 11 N.C. State | 18–9, 10–5 ACC |
| 25 | Sunday | L, 74–62 | at No. 13 Virginia Tech | 18–10, 10–6 ACC |
| 29 | Thursday | L, 78–74 | at Boston College | 18–11, 10–7 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 63–59 | vs. Duke | 19–11, 11–7 ACC |
| ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum | ||||
| 7 | Thursday | L, 60–59 | Second round: vs. Miami | 19–12 |
| NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C. | ||||
| 22 | Friday | W, 59–56 | First round: Michigan State | 20–12 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 88–41 | Second round: No. 1 South Carolina | 20–13 |
Potential UNC 2024–25 roster
| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | — | Lanie Grant (5 star) | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | — | Blanca Thomas (5 star) | C | 6–5 | |
| Freshman | — | Jordan Zubich (4 star) | G | 5–11 | |
| RS Freshman | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| RS Freshman | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 10 | Reniya Kelly | PG | 5–7 | |
| Sophomore | 15 | Sydney Barker | PG | 5–6 | |
| RS Junior | 11 | Kayla McPherson | PG | 5–8 | |
| Junior | 24 | Indya Nivar | G | 5–10 | |
| Senior | 5 | Maria Gakdeng | C | 6–3 | |
| Graduate | — | Grace Townsend | G | 5–5 | |
| Graduate | 20 | Lexi Donarski | G | 6–0 | |
| Graduate | 1 | Alyssa Ustby | F | 6–1 |
2023–24 UNC players to enter transfer portal
| Class | Player | Date entered | Pos. | Hgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | Paulina Paris | March 26 | G | 5–9 | Arizona |
| Graduate | Ali Zelaya | April 1 | F | 6–4 | UNCW |
| Graduate | Anya Poole | April 1 | F | 6–2 | TBA |
| RS junior | Teonni Key | April 2 | F | 6–4 | Kentucky |
| Sophomore | RyLee Grays | April 5 | F | 6–3 | TBA |
| Graduate | Deja Kelly | April 8 | G | 5–8 | TBA |
Photos courtesy of FIBA
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