Candice Wiggins is on top of the world now. The junior guard helped lead the Under-21 USA Women’s Basketball team to a gold medal at the FIBA U21 World Championships in Moscow, Russia this past week.

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Rising sophomore Kelley O’Hara kicks off her second year with the Under-20 Women’s National Team today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Americans face Paraguay to start the Pan-American Games. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/7745
Stanford Daily File Photo

Rising sophomore Kelley O’Hara kicks off her second year with the Under-20 Women’s National Team today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Americans face Paraguay to start the Pan-American Games.

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Rising senior Candice Wiggins scored 14 points in Monday’s championship game against Australia. After scoring 30 points against the Aussies in a tight, 90-88 match during pool play, Wiggins and the rest of the U.S. team earned the gold with a 96-73 final victory. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/7746
Stanford Daily File Photo

Rising senior Candice Wiggins scored 14 points in Monday’s championship game against Australia. After scoring 30 points against the Aussies in a tight, 90-88 match during pool play, Wiggins and the rest of the U.S. team earned the gold with a 96-73 final victory.

After a tight, 90-88 win over Australia in pool play, the American women faced off against the Aussies again on Monday in the championship match. This time it was a much easier, 96-73 win for the Americans.

One of five scorers in double figures for the U.S., Wiggins netted 14 points on the night. The Americans led from the start, opening the game on a 15-3 run; by halftime the U.S. had a 15-point lead.

While the U.S. led by as many as 19 points with 10 minutes to play, defensive slip-ups late in the game let the Aussies back in the contest, as they pulled within eight points. The American women used a 10-0 run, however, to secure the gold in the final minutes.

The win followed an 86-61 semifinal victory over host Russia in which Wiggins scored 27 points in 22 minutes; she was 4-for-6 from the three-point line. Despite a 13-0 surge by the Russians to start the game, Wiggins helped bring the U.S. back and led the squad to the final.

O’Hara flies into Rio for Pan-Am Games

Rising sophomore Kelley O’Hara was named to the 18-player U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Soccer Team on July 9. O’Hara will represent the U.S. in the 2007 Pan-American Games, which begin today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Having played on the team last year as well, O’Hara is coming off an excellent freshman season as the Cardinal’s leading scorer with nine goals and 20 points. She also earned an All-Pacific-10 Conference First Team selection, in addition to being a National Freshman of the Year finalist.

The U.S. will play Paraguay today at Joao Havelange Stadium in the squad’s first game of the tournament, before facing off against Panama, Argentina and Mexico to round out its group play in the following days.

Track and field a mark above the rest academically

After earning 10th-place finishes at the NCAA outdoor championships in June, Stanford’s men’s and women’s track and field teams can now boast all-academic honors.

While the women placed second behind Brigham Young (18 selections) with 15 honors, the men tied with the Cougars for the most NCAA Division-I all-academic athletes, totaling 11. All-academic honors are awarded to athletes earning a 3.25 GPA or higher, along with an NCAA Regional-qualifying mark in their respective indoor or outdoor event.

For their high marks, the Cardinal men were also named the All-Academic Indoor and Outdoor Team of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on July 10.