In the UCLA Bruins’ scrimmage last month versus the Canadian National Team, the defending national champions didn’t quite have their full roster. One of the pieces that was missing was incoming freshman Somto Okafor.
Okafor was handling business on a whole different continent, with the future Bruin helping Team Spain win the gold medal at the FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket in Sweden. Okafor was named MVP of the tournament, averaging 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.
Not only did Okafor lead the Spanish team, she showed remarkable efficiency in the tournament, shooting 51% from the floor and 48% from three. While Okafor shined the brightest, she wasn’t the only UCLA player in action for the EuroBasket.
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Okafor’s teammates, Lena Bilic, Christina Karamouzi and fellow incoming freshman Lena Jerkovic joined in on the action, playing in theFIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket. Bilic was the leading scorer of all the Bruins, with the sophomore scoring 17.3 points per game for the Croatian team that was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Jerkovic put up 8.6 points, 5.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game over seven appearances for Team Slovenia. Karamouzi scored just one point for Team Sweden over her four games.
UCLA head coach Cori Close has aggressively targeted international talent and it has paid dividends for the program. The Bruins’ international crop of talent will be put to the test this upcoming season, with UCLA’s championship core heading to the WNBA after last season’s NCAA title.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA’s incoming freshman wins MVP of FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket
