Three Arizona women’s basketball players bring home international medals

Through the first weekend of July, the summer of 2022 has been good to Arizona Wildcats on the international basketball scene. Incoming freshmen Kailyn Gilbert and Lemyah Hylton both won medals in the FIBA U18 Americas Championship in early June. They were followed by senior Helena Pueyo, who stood on the podium for Spain in the 3x3 des Jeux Méditarranéens d’Oran over the weekend.

Pueyo and Team Spain captured the gold medal by defeating France in the 3x3 championship game on July 3. Oran 2022 is a multi-country, multi-sport event being held in Oran, Algeria from June 25-July 6, 2022. It features 26 European and African countries located around the Mediterranean Sea.

The much faster 3x3 game encourages quick ball movement and shooting. Pueyo was able to show off her shooting skills, a good sign for a player whose shooting attempts have dwindled over the past few years in the 5x5 game.

Gilbert and Hylton have both arrived in Tucson after their trips to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gilbert was unable to play for Team USA during the tournament due to health and safety protocols, but Hylton started for Team Canada. The Americans came home with gold medals by defeating the Canadians 82-77 in the championship game.

Hylton scored seven points in the championship game as her team took home the silver medal. All of her points came from the free throw line. She also had four rebounds and five assists against just two turnovers.

Over the course of the tournament, Hylton averaged 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.0 steals in 22.2 minutes per game. She did a solid job taking care of the ball, averaging 2.3 turnovers per game, but had some difficulty from the floor in her last three games. Against El Salvador, Argentina, and the U.S. she went 4 for 35 from the floor.

The Wildcats are still waiting to see recent commit Breya Cunningham take her turn for USA Basketball. The 2023 post will go to Debrecen, Hungary to compete in the U17 World Cup Team Trials from July 9-17.