Azura Stevens captures FIBA U19 gold medal as Team USA tops Russia

When Azura Stevens steps back on campus in August, she will have one more accolade to add to an already impressive list: gold medalist.

The Blue Devil sophomore started Sunday's gold medal game at the FIBA U19 World Championship, scoring 18 points and grabbing six rebounds to help the Americans outlast Russia 78-70 in Chekhov, Russia. The 6-foot-6 forward finished 7-of-13 from the floor—including 2-of-3 from behind the arc—to help Team USA capture its sixth consecutive gold medal.

Playing on its home soil, Russia led 21-19 after the first quarter—a margin that could have been much larger if not for the play of Stevens. The forward kept the Americans close by racking up 10 of her 18 points during the period. The Russians led by as many as eight early in the second quarter before the United States mounted a comeback. South Carolina sophomore A'ja Wilson led the charge, finishing with a record 30 points and eight rebounds to fuel the Americans. The versatile Wilson was named the tournament's most valuable player.

Stevens will go head-to-head with Wilson and her Team USA head coach Dawn Staley when the Blue Devils travel to take on the Gamecocks Dec. 6. Representing her country for the first time, Stevens averaged 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game across the tournament's seven games.

In the bronze medal game between Spain and Australia, incoming freshman Angela Salvadores—the fifth-ranked recruit in ESPN's Class of 2015 rankings—scored a team-high 22 points and added four assists, but it was not enough for the Spanish, who fell 69-62. Spain outscored the Australians in three of the four periods but could not overcome a disastrous first quarter during which Australia jumped out to a commanding 29-13 lead.

Salvadores was the tournament's leading scorer at 18.4 points per game, besting Wilson by a tenth of a point.

Both Stevens and Salvadores will look to use their strong play in the tournament as a springboard into the upcoming season.