UNC women’s basketball star Deja Kelly and the U.S. Women’s basketball team fell short of earning the gold medal at the 2023 Women’s AmeriCup, as Brazil defeated the Americans for the second time in a week at the tournament.

Kelly and Team USA suffered another poor shooting night against the Brazilians, losing 69-58 on Sunday night. The Tar Heels’ guard played 23 minutes off the bench, but went 0-for-7 from the field and scored just 4 points off free throws. The 21-year-old rising senior finished the tournament averaging nearly 6 points per game with 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

Brazil limited the U.S. to just 29.6 percent from the field on Sunday and 3-for-23 from three-point range. The effort followed the Brazilians’ success against the Americans just a few days earlier — as the two national teams squared off in the group play round and Brazil won 67-54. In that game, Team USA was similarly inefficient, scoring only 30 percent from the field and 13 percent of their three-pointers. On Sunday, one of the few bright spots for the United States was University of Tennessee guard Rickea Jackson, who lead the team with 22 points and added 8 rebounds.

While Team USA came into the AmeriCup in Mexico ranked as the #1 team in FIBA rankings, it also had the youngest average age of any roster at 20 years old, because of all the college players on its roster like Kelly. Brazil, in comparison, had an average age of 28 years old.

Kelly will soon return to Chapel Hill in preparation for her upcoming fourth season with Courtney Banghart’s UNC program. She is looking to build upon her 2022-23 All-ACC campaign that saw Carolina make it to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. While the official schedule has yet to be released, the Tar Heels are slated for a season full of powerhouse opponents — as they will face South Carolina and UConn during non-conference play, and several other title contenders within the ACC.

The Carolina program and Banghart each posted about Kelly’s efforts on Team USA on Monday.

Highlights from the 2023 AmeriCup gold medal game between Brazil and the U.S. can be watched here or below.

 

Photo via FIBA Basketball.

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