Team USA Blitzes Latvia 105-53, Finishes Group Play a Perfect 3-0 — And South Carolina’s Board Is Lighting Up
Team USA closed out group play at the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup in commanding fashion, demolishing Latvia 105-53 to finish Group A undefeated at 3-0. If Sunday’s two-point win over Australia was a stress test, Monday’s result was a statement — and once again, several names with direct ties to South Carolina’s recruiting board were at the center of it.
A complete team performance
The scoring was spread across the roster in a way that speaks to genuine offensive balance rather than a single-player showcase. Morghan Reckley posted 12 points and 6 assists, continuing to build on the composed floor-general performance she flashed against Australia. For a 2028 point guard who only picked up her South Carolina offer this spring, back-to-back efficient, playmaking-heavy outings against increasingly overmatched competition is exactly the kind of consistency that turns a fresh offer into a real recruiting priority.
Nyaji R. added a double-double effort with 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Ari Robinson and Eve Long each chipped in 14 points. Long’s inclusion is worth flagging for South Carolina fans specifically — she holds a Gamecock offer but has already committed to Notre Dame, meaning her strong showing here is more a reminder of what the Gamecocks missed out on than an active recruiting storyline.
Ivanna Wilson Manyacka continues her ascent
The standout performance, though, belonged to Ivanna Wilson Manyacka, who scored 16 points on a blistering 6-of-7 shooting from the field. That kind of efficiency — better than 85% shooting in a game against international competition — isn’t just a good box score, it’s a sign of a player controlling the game on her terms rather than settling for difficult looks. Combined with her 14-point, 11-rebound, 3-steal effort against Australia, Wilson Manyacka has now strung together two dominant performances in the tournament’s most meaningful games so far. For a South Carolina staff sitting on a wide-open offer for the No. 2-ranked player in the 2027 class, this is precisely the kind of tape that gets circulated in a coaches’ meeting.
Why an undefeated group stage matters beyond the record
Finishing group play 3-0, capped by a 52-point margin of victory, is about as strong a group-stage résumé as a team can build. But the analytical value goes beyond the win total. A close, competitive win over Australia followed by a total dismantling of Latvia shows a team — and individual prospects — capable of raising or lowering their intensity depending on the level of competition, which is a mark of basketball maturity scouts specifically look for at this age level. Players who show up in both grind-it-out games and blowouts tend to grade out better than those who only produce when the game is already decided.
What comes next
With group play now complete, Team USA moves on to the knockout rounds with real momentum and multiple prospects trending upward on South Carolina’s board. Wilson Manyacka in particular looks to be building a strong case for herself heading into the tournament’s higher-stakes games, and how she and Reckley perform against tougher, elimination-level competition will likely carry even more weight with recruiters than anything from the group stage. The Gamecocks — and plenty of other programs — will be watching closely as the bracket tightens.
