USA 97 France 74 for world title; Bolingbrook HS' Massengale stars

       When Bolingbrook High School All-Americans Ariel Massengale and Morgan Tuck take the floor in November in pursuit of their third straight state championship, the two Lady Raiders will do so knowing they were integral parts of a world championship team as well.
      Massengale, known for stepping it up big time in big games, scored a game high 20 points, including three 3-pointers, in leading the USA national team to a 92-62 victory over the host team in Toulouse, France Sunday to claim the U17 FIBA World Championship. Her effort followed a team high 22-point, 6-rebound, 6-assist performance in a 97-74 semifinal win over China Saturday.
      Tuck grabbed six rebounds in the title game against France and added five rebounds and three assists against China.

      The USA went unbeaten in the eight-game tournament with Massengale playing a team-high 180 minutes as the starting point guard and Tuck playing 139 minutes in both a starting and reserve role.
      Massengale was the team’s fourth leading scorer with 81 points, including ten 3-pointers. She hit 86 percent of her free throws, had three times as many assists (43) as any other USA player, totaled 11 steals and grabbed 22 rebounds.

      "Words cannot explain how I feel," Massengale said. "It's a great honor and we are all blessed to have had this opportunity to do something like this."

      Tuck’s 18 offensive rebounds were second on the squad for the tournament. She grabbed 40 rebounds in all and scored 59 points.

(Photos courtesy of USA Basketball and FIBA)