CHICAGO – Both players have had their fair share of success in the Women’s National Basketball Association and now they’re continuing that overseas in 2022.
Chicago Sky guard Kahleah Copper and Lincolnwood native and four-time WNBA All-Star Jewell Loyd were both on the United States national team in Australia as they helped the team to another strong run at the FIBA World Cup.
Team USA went 8-0 over the course of the tournament and defeated China 83-61 Saturday in the gold medal game. It marks the fourth-straight time that the national team has won the FIBA World Cup as the team has now won 30-straight games in that tournament.
It’s the second time that Loyd has won gold at the World Cup, having done so in Spain back in 2018. In seven games at this year’s tournament, the guard averaged 8.4 points, including 11 in the gold medal game against China.
Copper, who won her first gold medal in any Team USA competition on Saturday, was out of the semifinal and gold medal game with a hip injury, but played well in the six previous games. She averaged 9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per contest.
Loyd, a former standout at Niles West High School and two-time All-American at Notre Dame, just finished her eighth WNBA season with the Seattle Storm. She’s made the All-Star team in each of the last four full seasons (2020 had no All-Star Game) and this past season averaged 16.3 points per game.
Copper is one of the WNBA’s emerging stars as she’s been named an All-Star the last two seasons and won Finals MVP in 2021 in helping the Sky to their first WNBA championship.
Both player’s win in Australia was featured as this week’s “Random Hawlight” on WGN News Now and you can see that in the video above.
