Teri Moren and Team USA Bring Home the Gold at the FIBA U-18 AmeriCup Tournament in Colombia
Indiana University Women’s Basketball Head Coach Teri Moren and Team USA won the Gold Medal Sunday Night at the FIBA U-18 Women’s AmeriCup Tournament in Bucaramanga, Colombia as they won 80-69 over Canada. This was the 14th time this tournament has been played since it began in 1988 and The United States has won the Gold Medal 12 times overall and 11 in a row. Brazil beat the United States for the Gold Medal in 1992 and 1996. This was the 7th time United States and Canada have met for the Gold Medal in this event and 5th in a row with the United States winning all matchups. Canada has 6 Silver Medals and 2 Bronze Medals at this event and is tied for Brazil who won the Gold Twice along with 3 Silver Medals and Two Bronze Medals. Argentina beat Brazil 73-66 to win its third Bronze in a row and 6th overall. It is the third Gold Medal for Coach Moren who was an assistant coach for the 2023 FIBA U-19 Women’s World Cup and the 2022 FIBA Americas U-19 Tournament.
The United States put four in double figures with 18 points from Kennedy Smith along with a 16-point and 13 rebounds from Joyce Edwards. Sienna Betts added 13 points and 9 rebounds. Kayleigh Heckel added 13 points and Jordan Lee and Jasmine Davidson scored 9 points apiece. In 6 Games Team USA Averaged 104.6 points per game and held their opponents to 36.8 points per game with a whopping 71.1 average margin of victory. The Americans held Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Dominican Republic under 30 points. Argentina scored 32 points, Brazil scored 51 points and Canada who was the only challenge in the tournament scored 69 and held the United States to its lowest point total in the tournament with 80 after the American scored 97 points against Brazil and over 100 points in the other four games. Puerto Rico beat Colombia 57-46 in the 5th place game and Mexico beat the Dominican Republic 81-55 in the 7th place game.
Saturday Team USA continued their dominance with a 109-32 win over Argentina in the Semifinals. Six players scored in double figures led by Sienna Betts with 20 points along with 17 points from Joyce Edwards. 11 of 12 United States players scored with Alivia McGill pulling down 5 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists and 4 steals. Canada beat Brazil 85-46 in the other semifinal as The United States, Argentina, Canada and Brazil officially qualify for the 2025 FIBA U-19 World Cup in the Czech Republic as the top four teams in this event. Puerto Rico beat the Dominican Republic 72-51 and Colombia beat Mexico 62-60 in the consolation bracket.
Friday Team USA dominated the Dominican Republic by 98 points 125-27 in the Quarterfinals. The United States officially qualified for the 2025 FIBA U-19 World Cup in the Czech Republic. Eight Americans scored Double Figures led by Leah Macy and Joyce Edwards with 14 points apiece. Sarah Strong had 11 points and 10 Rebounds. All 12 United States players scored 6 or more points for a balance effort. Ana Mota led the Dominican Republic with 7 points. Argentina beat Puerto Rico 68-58; Canada beat Mexico 66-58 and Brazil beat Colombia 73-55 in the other Quarterfinal matchups.
Andrew Capobianco Heads to Paris and Carson Tyler earns Historic Double
Indiana Swimming and Diving athletes Andrew Capobianco and Carson Tyler qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics on the 3-meter springboard Sunday at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials inside the Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Capobianco makes his second Olympics after medaling at the 2020 Tokyo Games in the 3-meter synchronized competition and finishing 10th in the individual event. Tyler, who won the 10-meter event on Saturday, earned his second event with his second-place finish on the springboard. He becomes the first U.S. diver since Mark Ruiz in 2000 to qualify for the Olympics in both individual events. Tyler and Capobianco also represent the last two NCAA Championships on the 3-meter springboard.
IU divers were the top-three finishers on the 3-meter springboard as Capobianco won with a score of 971.80, Tyler finished second (945.75) and Quinn Henninger took third (870.50). Capobianco and Tyler created a 55-point cushion between themselves and the field through Friday’s semifinal and did not let up Sunday. Boasting an average 3.6 degree of difficulty, Capobianco scored at least 80 points on five of his six dives Sunday. Tyler was sharp on his lower DD list, recording better than 70 points on each attempt. Henninger outscored both Olympians on Sunday after Friday’s scores carried over, hitting two dives for 91 points. Indiana will send three divers to the 2024 Paris Games as Jessica Parratto earned her third Olympics, qualifying in the women’s synchronized 10-meter. The Indiana swimming and diving program has produced an Olympic diver in every Summer Games since 1964.
Indiana University Swimmers Blake Pieroni and Matt King Qualify for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics
Indiana’s significant presence on the men’s and women’s swimming teams headed to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris grew on Sunday, the final day of qualifying at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Blake Pieroni was the final addition to the 26-man roster as the sixth-place finisher in the 200-meter freestyle. He will represent Team USA on the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Additionally, incoming transfer Matt King was named to the Olympic team as the sixth-place finisher in the 100-meter freestyle. King will begin training at IU in the fall following his Olympic debut. IU associate head swimming coach Cory Chitwood was named an assistant coach for the open water national team, his first appointment to an Olympic Team.
Indiana University Football Lands Kokomo HS Tight End Andrew Barker for 2025
IU Football picked up a commitment from 2025 tight end Andrew Barker, he announced on Sunday morning. The 6-foot-4 product of Kokomo, Indiana announced the news on his X account. He was on an official visit to Indiana this weekend. Barker is a 3-star, and the No. 94 tight end in the class according to 247Sports. As a junior at Kokomo H.S., Barker was named First Team All-State. He had 23 receptions for 324 yards and four touchdowns, and also played some on the edge on defense.
He had offers from Army, Ball State, Dartmouth, Gardner-Webb, Illinois State, Marshall, Navy, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Southern Illinois. With the addition of Barker, Indiana now has two tight end commits in their 2025 class. Barker joins Wisconsin-based tight end Blake Thiry. In total IU now has 14 commits in their rising senior high school class. After the commitment, the class ranks 60th overall and No. 18 in the Big Ten according to On3.
Indiana University Softball adds Kentucky Transfer Taylor Hess
Indiana Softball Head Coach Shonda Stanton has announced the signing of transfer Taylor Hess to the team. Hess comes to Indiana from Kentucky, where she spent the first two seasons of her career. She is a lefthanded pitcher from Maple Lake, Minn. In her time at Kentucky, she made six appearances in the circle with two starts and 13 innings pitched. She made her first career appearance against Texas A&M on March 25 in her freshman season. Against Ole Miss in the same season (April 9), she went 4.1 innings and only allowed two runs while striking out two.
Hess enjoyed a standout prep career at Maple Lakes High School. She earned 2019 and 2021 first team all-state and first team all-conference honors at Maple Lakes. She was also a Gatorade Player of the Year nominee for Minnesota. As a junior, she had a .061 ERA with five no-hitters, 18 shutouts, three perfect games and 249 strikeouts. She also hit .449 at the plate. Hess was part of three conference championship teams, two section titles and her team reached the 2021 state finals. In travel ball, she played for Fury Platinum Polk where her team won the 2019 PGF National Championship and was a top-20 finisher in Alliance for the 2021 season.
Caitlin Clark sets the Indiana Fever franchise record for assists as the Chicago Sky end Fever’s winning streak The Indiana Fever (7-11) fell, 88-87, to the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena on Sunday. Fever Guard Caitlin Clark ended with 17 points, a franchise-record 13 assists, six rebounds, and tied a career-high with four steals. Fever Guard Erica Wheeler owned the previous franchise record of 12 assists in a game, which was set on June 6, 2023, also at Chicago. Sunday’s matchup marked the fourth consecutive game Fever Guards Kelsey Mitchell, Clark, Center Aliyah Boston, and Forward NaLyssa Smith all scored in double figures, as Mitchell led with a season-high 24 points, two assists, one blocked shot and a steal. Boston trailed with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal. Boston recorded two blocked shots on Sunday and moved to ninth on the Fever all-time blocks list with 74, passing Erlana Larkins. Smith totaled 12 points, seven rebounds, and one assist in the loss. Additionally, Smith moved to 14th place on the Fever all-time scoring list with 1,124 career-points, passing Tully Bevilaqua. Fever Guard Kristy Wallace tallied nine points, two rebounds, and two assists, and guard Erica Wheeler came off the bench to add four points, two rebounds, and two assists. Former Indiana University Standout Grace Berger did not play.
After a hard-fought first half, the Sky (6-9) went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter, but Indiana responded with a 24-3 run of its own at the end of the quarter while securing its largest lead of the night, 72-57. Indiana handed out a season-high 28 assists and committed a season-low nine turnovers compared to the Sky’s 15 turnovers. Three Sky players scored in double figures, led by rookie Forward Angel Reese’s eighth straight double-double in a career-high 25-point, 16-rebound performance. Sky Guard Chennedy Carter followed closely behind with 23 points, five assists, and two rebounds. Sky rookie Center Kamilla Cardoso recorded the second double-double of her career with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. Chicago also outscored Indiana in paint points, 48-28, and bench points, 14-7. The Fever head out to face the Seattle Storm on Thursday at 10pm. Thursday’s game will be broadcast on WALV and Prime Video.
Bloomington South Shines and Bloomington North Boys Basketball struggles at the Charlie Hughes Tournament
169 Teams from all over the State of Indiana were in Carmel and Westfield over the weekend for the Indiana High School Basketball Coaches Association and Indiana High School Athletic Association Showcase in Memory of Charlie Hughes. This has become the State’s Best Boys High School Basketball Team Tournament with College Coaches in attendance to see what the best players in the State of Indiana have to offer. The Teams played a regular high school game with four eight-minute quarters and no running clock, and it was a varsity only tournament. The Tournament began Friday Afternoon and ended early evening on Sunday with a total of 311 games played.
Bloomington South finished 4-0 on the weekend as the Panthers beat Merrillville 73-66 and Northwood 59-53 on Saturday. The Panthers beat Harrison (West Lafayette) 63-52 and Lake Central 53-45 on Friday. Bloomington North finished 0-4 on the weekend as the Cougars fell 72-47 to Warren Central and 78-54 to Westfield on Saturday. Bloomington North lost 82-80 to Fort Wayne Luers and 80-62 to South Bend Saint Joseph on Friday. Bloomington South was one of 16 teams that ended the weekend with a perfect 4-0 record. The other teams were Noblesville, South Bend Saint Joseph, Silver Creek, Evansville North, Pendleton Heights, Jeffersonville, Culver Military, Indianapolis Metropolitan, Purdue Polytechnic Englewood, Cathedral, Warren Central, Terre Haute North, Penn, Princeton and Columbia City. 10 Teams went 2-0 on the weekend they include Fort Wayne Blackhawk, Manchester, Mishawka Marian, Taylor, Hammond Morton, New Haven, Monrovia, Hauser, Evansville Reitz and Charlestown with 26 teams out of the 169 in attendance having a perfect weekend.
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