Wilson, Staley lead Team USA to gold medal

At Chekhov, Russia, South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson figured enough was enough.

The rising sophomore and reigning SEC Freshman of the Year scored a finals-record 30 points as the FIBA U19 Team USA won its sixth-straight gold medal, 78-70 over Russia on Sunday. With the Russians giving the Americans all they could handle in the first half before a 9-0 burst earned a lead the U.S .wouldn’t relinquish, coach Dawn Staley decided to get the ball to her tallest player in the second half.

Russia had no match for Wilson, who won MVP honors for the second straight summer. She also teamed with Staley for the U18 gold last year. She averaged 22.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists over this year’s tournament, and added eight boards, three assists, two steals and a block to her points on Sunday.

Staley is now 21-0 in international competition and won her third gold medal as a head coach.

This story was originally published July 26, 2015 at 5:25 PM.