Photo by: FIBA
Three Bruins Earn FIBA Medals in 2025 Summer Tournaments
July 21, 2025 | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ Three incoming Bruins come to Westwood with FIBA medals from this summer's set of international competitions; Sienna Betts, Lena Bilić and Gianna Kneepkens claimed podium finishes representing USA and Croatia.
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Upperclassmen Gabriela Jaquez (Mexico) and Angela Dugalić (Serbia) also competed in the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2025 and FIBA Women's EuroBasket with their respective senior national teams.
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Betts Means Business
Betts and the US junior national team dominated their competition at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Brno, Czechia; the USA squad went 7-0 on the way to a gold medal. Betts averaged 14.6 points and 10 rebounds per game, which ranked 11th and second in the tournament, respectively, and shot .587 from the floor.
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The Centennial, Colo., native exploded for 25 points (11-12 FG) against South Korea in the opening game as the USA claimed a 134-53 victory. Betts captured a double-double in five of her seven appearances with Team USA and impressed defensively โ she had 13 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and three steals against Hungary in game two of the tournament. China had no answer for the big; she had 21 points (10-17 FG), 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals to close out the group phase. Betts averaged 2.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game with the undefeated United States team. She put up 11 points (5-8 FG), 11 rebounds and a block in her gold medal effort; Betts played 39 minutes to help lift USA past Australia in the championship game.
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Bilićย Goes Big
Croatian phenom Lena Bilić helped lead her junior national team to a 6-1 record at the FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket Division B in Lithuania; with a third-place finish, Croatia has earned a promotion to next summer's top division tournament.
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Bilić led the U18 Division B tournament in scoring, averaging 23.6 points per game as a focal point of Croatia's impressive offense. She opened the games with 23 points against Great Britain, which included a game-winning jumper from the short corner as Croatia squeaked out a one-point win. Croatia coasted to a 76-point win in the next game against Norway; Bilić had 15 points in 17 minutes on the floor. The Croatian caught fire in the last two games of the group phase and picked up her defensive effort; Bilić had 24 points, six rebounds, five assists, six steals and three blocks against Bulgaria before clearing the 30-point hurdle her next game. Croatia needed all of her 32 points (10-18 FG, 3-6 3FG) against Denmark in the 100-98 win โ she also racked up five rebounds, seven assists and five steals in the nail-biter. Croatia dropped its first and only match of the tournament against Germany in the semifinal round, and Bilić responded by leaving everything on the court in the third-place game against Lithuania. She had 41 points (15-29 FG, 6-12 3FG) in the bronze medal match as Croatia took down host Lithuania 88-83. Bilić also had five rebounds, seven assists and four steals as Croatia earned its promotion.
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She averaged 6.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, earning Bilić a spot on the All-Star Five for the tournament.
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Kneepkens Shines in Team USA Debut
The graduate transfer made her first-ever appearance with USA Basketball at the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2025 in Chile this summer. Kneepkens was just shy of a double-digit scoring average, putting up 9.7 points per game through seven appearances.
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Kneepkens opened the tournament scoring 12 points (3-5 FG, 2-3 3FG) against host Chile in the first game of her international career. She also corralled four rebounds, assisted twice and snatched two steals. Against Puerto Rico, Kneepkens had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting as the United States coasted to an 80-62 win. Kneepkens best performance came against Mexico and new teammate Gabriela Jaquez; the guard scored 20 points (7-10 FG, 4-7 3FG), grabbed five boards and had two steals in the rout of Mexico. She followed that with a 14-point outing against the Dominican Republic in the quarterfinals; Kneepkens was +45 in 19 minutes as USA claimed a dominant win to advance (110-44).
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The Duluth, Minn., native finished the tournament averaging 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. The sharpshooter put up an impressive .548/.500/1.000 split and proved herself an offensive weapon on the international stage.
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Jaquez is a Rising Star with Mexico
Jaquez joined Team Mexico for the second-consecutive summer, also competing at the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2025 in Chile. In her AmeriCup debut, she averaged 12.0 points per game, which ranked eighth amongst all players at the international competition.
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She began the tournament with a 22-point performance (8-19 FG, 3-8 3FG) against host Chile in Mexico's opening day win. She had 15 points against Puerto Rico in the group stage and 15 against Brazil in the quarterfinal round. The Bruin guard was on the boards against Brazil, collecting eight rebounds in the loss. Jaquez had 15 points, eight rebounds and an assist in Mexico's 30-point win over the Dominican Republic in the final game of the tournament, helping Mexico to a seventh-place finish.
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The Camarillo, Calif., native was recognized with the tournament's Rising Star award for her outstanding and impactful performance with the Mexican senior national team; in addition to 12.0 points, she also averaged 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
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Dugalić Leads Serbia on the Boards
Dugalić joined the Serbia women's senior national team for the 2025 FIBA Women's EuroBasket, competing in Italy in early June. She averaged 10 points and 5.7 rebounds per game - Dugalić was Serbia's leading rebounder for its three-game stint in the group phase.
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She started group play scoring six points against host Italy; Dugalić also snagged seven rebounds and a steal in 36 minutes played. She followed that with four points and eight rebounds against Lithuania. Dugalić had a scoring outburst against Slovenia, pouring in 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-6 3FG) in the effort. Serbia did not advance to the quarterfinals after going 0-3 in group play.
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Upperclassmen Gabriela Jaquez (Mexico) and Angela Dugalić (Serbia) also competed in the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2025 and FIBA Women's EuroBasket with their respective senior national teams.
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Betts Means Business
Betts and the US junior national team dominated their competition at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Brno, Czechia; the USA squad went 7-0 on the way to a gold medal. Betts averaged 14.6 points and 10 rebounds per game, which ranked 11th and second in the tournament, respectively, and shot .587 from the floor.
ย
The Centennial, Colo., native exploded for 25 points (11-12 FG) against South Korea in the opening game as the USA claimed a 134-53 victory. Betts captured a double-double in five of her seven appearances with Team USA and impressed defensively โ she had 13 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and three steals against Hungary in game two of the tournament. China had no answer for the big; she had 21 points (10-17 FG), 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals to close out the group phase. Betts averaged 2.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game with the undefeated United States team. She put up 11 points (5-8 FG), 11 rebounds and a block in her gold medal effort; Betts played 39 minutes to help lift USA past Australia in the championship game.
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Bilićย Goes Big
Croatian phenom Lena Bilić helped lead her junior national team to a 6-1 record at the FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket Division B in Lithuania; with a third-place finish, Croatia has earned a promotion to next summer's top division tournament.
ย
Bilić led the U18 Division B tournament in scoring, averaging 23.6 points per game as a focal point of Croatia's impressive offense. She opened the games with 23 points against Great Britain, which included a game-winning jumper from the short corner as Croatia squeaked out a one-point win. Croatia coasted to a 76-point win in the next game against Norway; Bilić had 15 points in 17 minutes on the floor. The Croatian caught fire in the last two games of the group phase and picked up her defensive effort; Bilić had 24 points, six rebounds, five assists, six steals and three blocks against Bulgaria before clearing the 30-point hurdle her next game. Croatia needed all of her 32 points (10-18 FG, 3-6 3FG) against Denmark in the 100-98 win โ she also racked up five rebounds, seven assists and five steals in the nail-biter. Croatia dropped its first and only match of the tournament against Germany in the semifinal round, and Bilić responded by leaving everything on the court in the third-place game against Lithuania. She had 41 points (15-29 FG, 6-12 3FG) in the bronze medal match as Croatia took down host Lithuania 88-83. Bilić also had five rebounds, seven assists and four steals as Croatia earned its promotion.
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She averaged 6.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, earning Bilić a spot on the All-Star Five for the tournament.
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Kneepkens Shines in Team USA Debut
The graduate transfer made her first-ever appearance with USA Basketball at the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2025 in Chile this summer. Kneepkens was just shy of a double-digit scoring average, putting up 9.7 points per game through seven appearances.
ย
Kneepkens opened the tournament scoring 12 points (3-5 FG, 2-3 3FG) against host Chile in the first game of her international career. She also corralled four rebounds, assisted twice and snatched two steals. Against Puerto Rico, Kneepkens had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting as the United States coasted to an 80-62 win. Kneepkens best performance came against Mexico and new teammate Gabriela Jaquez; the guard scored 20 points (7-10 FG, 4-7 3FG), grabbed five boards and had two steals in the rout of Mexico. She followed that with a 14-point outing against the Dominican Republic in the quarterfinals; Kneepkens was +45 in 19 minutes as USA claimed a dominant win to advance (110-44).
ย
The Duluth, Minn., native finished the tournament averaging 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. The sharpshooter put up an impressive .548/.500/1.000 split and proved herself an offensive weapon on the international stage.
ย
Jaquez is a Rising Star with Mexico
Jaquez joined Team Mexico for the second-consecutive summer, also competing at the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2025 in Chile. In her AmeriCup debut, she averaged 12.0 points per game, which ranked eighth amongst all players at the international competition.
ย
She began the tournament with a 22-point performance (8-19 FG, 3-8 3FG) against host Chile in Mexico's opening day win. She had 15 points against Puerto Rico in the group stage and 15 against Brazil in the quarterfinal round. The Bruin guard was on the boards against Brazil, collecting eight rebounds in the loss. Jaquez had 15 points, eight rebounds and an assist in Mexico's 30-point win over the Dominican Republic in the final game of the tournament, helping Mexico to a seventh-place finish.
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The Camarillo, Calif., native was recognized with the tournament's Rising Star award for her outstanding and impactful performance with the Mexican senior national team; in addition to 12.0 points, she also averaged 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
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Dugalić Leads Serbia on the Boards
Dugalić joined the Serbia women's senior national team for the 2025 FIBA Women's EuroBasket, competing in Italy in early June. She averaged 10 points and 5.7 rebounds per game - Dugalić was Serbia's leading rebounder for its three-game stint in the group phase.
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She started group play scoring six points against host Italy; Dugalić also snagged seven rebounds and a steal in 36 minutes played. She followed that with four points and eight rebounds against Lithuania. Dugalić had a scoring outburst against Slovenia, pouring in 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting (3-6 3FG) in the effort. Serbia did not advance to the quarterfinals after going 0-3 in group play.
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Players Mentioned
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