Ricketts and USA into gold medal game

BANGKOK, Thailand — A pair of victories have the United States in the gold medal game for the FIBA U19 World Championships this weekend.

University of Arkansas freshman C’eira Ricketts scored points off the bench in each of USA’s wins in the quarter and semi final rounds of the women’s basketball world championship.

The wins over France and Canada set up a rematch with the only team to defeat the Americans, Spain, for the gold medal. Spain, 8-0, is the only undefeated team in the tournament, and downed USA, 7-1, by four points in a back-and-forth thriller during the opening pool play.

Ricketts scored four points with two steals in four minutes off the bench in the 88-75 win over France, 88-75. The Americans rallied from a first quarter deficit, 22-16, to tie the game by halftime, 36-36. The game remained close until the final period where USA pulled away with a 25-16 effort.

In the semifinal versus Canada, 82-51, Ricketts had one of her better all-around games with four points, three rebounds and a tournament personal high three steals in 20 minutes.

The Canadians were no match for USA as the Americans pounced on their northern neighbors, 27-6, in the first quarter and went from there. USA coasted from the 50-18 halftime lead into the gold medal game.