By Josh Lively
Assistant Director/Communications for Mississippi State University

NAPLES, Italy — Despite a hard-fought game, USA Team fell to Australia in the finals of the World University Games, 80-72, taking home the silver medal for the event that ended on July 10. Bogalusa native JaMya Mingo-Young was a member of USA Team.
“We got beat by a better, veteran team today,” said head coach Vic Schaefer. “It wasn’t our best day, but I am extremely proud of our kids and our team. We have gone through a gauntlet of seven teams from different countries with the best players from those countries playing against our team from Mississippi State. I couldn’t be prouder of our kids. We have grown tremendously. You can’t put a value on the experience that we’ve had, both playing as well as the cultural experience. Italy has been wonderful to us, and the people here have been tremendous. Again, I have seen so much growth with our kids. I’m so encouraged for our upcoming season in 2019-20. I know people back at Mississippi State are proud of this team. I think the future is bright.”
Australia, which won gold at the 2017 games, used a 29-14 advantage in the third quarter to pull away from USA Team and reclaim its title.
Mississippi State University, which represented USA Team, was led in scoring by Rickea Jackson, who had a game-high 18 points to go along with five rebounds. Mingo-Young had a solid performance off the bench, finishing with 12 points and two assists.
Mingo-Young, who graduated from Loranger in May, averaged five points per game in the seven games of the tournament. Mingo-Young averaged 10 points over the final two games. She tallied 20 rebounds and five assists combined for the tournament.
For the game, USA Team shot 38 percent from the field. Jazzmun Holmes finished with six assists, four points and four steals in her final game playing under Schaefer. Yemiyah Morris just missed out on a double-double, recording eight points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
“We basically had these kids come in and go through a November and December schedule without them going through September and October as preseason,” Schaefer said. “We asked them to develop some chemistry both offensively and defensively. Rickea didn’t even get here for another week because she was playing in the FIBA 3×3 U18 World Championships. It’s a credit to our kids and my staff with what they were able to do in such a short period of time to get ready to play this kind of competition. It’s unbelievable. They said that no USA Team has ever placed that was represented by a university’s team. To be able to play for gold tonight, I couldn’t be prouder.”
Australia held USA Team in check during the first quarter, allowing just 15 points. The Aussies also put USA Team in foul trouble early on and found success at the free throw line, going 7-of-10 in the period to help take a 23-15 lead.
USA Team came out strong on both ends of the floor in the second quarter. Offensively, the team had good movement with the ball as six different players scored baskets. On defense, USA Team held Australia without a field goal for the first four minutes of the frame and to just 4-of-15 shooting for the period. The swing in play allowed USA Team to cut Australia’s lead to one possession at 37-34 going into halftime.
Australia outscored USA Team, 29-14, in the third quarter to pull ahead. The Aussies shot 11-of-20 from the floor and knocked down five threes to take what would be an insurmountable lead. Despite trailing by as much as 20 in the second half, USA Team fought until the very end, using an 11-0 run to end the game and cut Australia’s lead to single digits.
Australia was able to match USA Team in the paint, becoming the first team in the event to edge USA Team in both points in the paint (42-34) and rebounds (39-32).
USA Team went 6-1 in the tournament.