Kiki Rice, Londynn Jones Win FIBA U18 Americas Championship Before Joining UCLA
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With the start of their college careers right around the corner, a pair of Bruins got some winning done before moving to Westwood for the next four years.
Incoming UCLA women’s basketball freshman guards Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones represented the United States at the 2022 FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this June. Team USA, led by the Bruin backcourt duo, secured an 82-77 win over Canada in the gold medal game Sunday night, capping off an undefeated run for the Americans.
Rice and Jones were leaders all throughout the tournament, starting in all six of their team's games, and the two top-25 recruits continued to rise to the occasion in the finals. Rice scored 18 points in the close-out game versus Canada, while Jones chipped in 15.
The win lifted Team USA to their 10th consecutive FIBA U18 Americas title and 11th all-time.
Rice won tournament MVP for her all-around efforts, ranking second with 14.3 points per game while leading all players with 24 assists. The No. 2 recruit in the country and McDonald's All-American Game co-MVP also shot 49.2% from the field in Buenos Aries, good for third-best in the tournament.
Jones, meanwhile, averaged 7.2 points per game, also dishing out 23 assists and topping all Americans with 12 steals.
Team USA swept its way through group play, disposing of Columbia, Puerto Rico and El Salvador with a 60-point average margin of victory. Rice started hot with 16 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals in the 81-29 opening win over Columbia, with Jones also adding seven points, six assists and four rebounds of her own.
Statistically, the duo slowed down in the United States' 93-38 win over Puerto Rico and their 106-31 victory against El Salvador. Once the knockout rounds got going, though, so did Rice and Jones.
Rice put up 14 points and six rebounds in a 77-41 win over Mexico in quarterfinals, then topped that with a game-high 22 points in the 84-40 semifinals victory versus Brazil. Jones went for 10 points, five assists and five rebounds against Brazil.
Across the final two contests, Rice and Jones combined to average 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 5.0 steals per game while shooting 40% from beyond the arc. Rice and Jones played more minutes than anyone else on Team USA, and they both played all 40 minutes Sunday.
Canada played the United States closer than any other team, whittling it down to a four-point deficit with nine minutes to go, but Rice hit a key and-1 to slow the comeback and create just enough separation for them to pull away down the stretch.
Rice now has a third gold medal to her name – also winning ones at the U16 2019 FIBA Americas in Chile and the 2021 U18 Junior National 3x3 World Cup in Hungary – and yet another award to add to her mantle. The Sidwell Friends School (DC) product won Gatorade Player of the Year, Naismith Player of the Year, Wooden Player of the Year and MaxPreps National Female Athlete of the Year over the past few months alone.
After flying home from Argentina, Rice and Jones will join the rest of their fellow incoming freshmen in Westwood this summer. Rice's McDonald's All-American Game co-MVP, Gabriela Jaquez, is one of the other headliners, along with four-star post Christeen Iwuala and German big Lina Sontag.
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