Before soon-to-be Bruin teammates Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkens join forces at Pauley Pavilion this fall, they will compete on the same court – but as opponents.

The rising senior guard Jaquez faced off against incoming graduate student guard and Utah transfer Kneepkens during group play of the FIBA AmeriCup on July 2. Jaquez and Mexico fell 104-48 to Kneepkens and the United States before the teams went on to earn seventh and first place, respectively, in the tournament.

“They’re a really good team; they have a lot of good players,” Jaquez said. “We didn’t make a lot of shots.”

Jaquez, one of Mexico’s leading scorers, posted only six points and shot a personal tournament low 14.3% from inside the arc. This didn’t overshadow her overall performance in her first AmeriCup, though – the Camarillo, California, local averaged 12 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists across seven games, helping lead Mexico to its highest finish since 2011.

These numbers, which included the 13th most points per game put up by any player in the tournament, earned Jaquez the AmeriCup’s Rising Star award.

While Jaquez struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the Mexico-USA matchup, Kneepkens seemed to hit her groove. She led her team’s charge to triple digits, shooting 7-for-10 from the 3-point line and scoring a personal tournament high 20 points despite spending just 21 minutes on the court.

“We’re hard to guard as a team because there’s a lot of options,” Kneepkens said. “When you move the ball and you’re getting open looks and your teammates are finding you, it’s a little bit easier to knock down the shot.”

After pushing past the Dominican Republic and Canada in the quarter- and semifinals, respectively, USA met reigning-champion Brazil – the team that knocked Mexico out of gold medal contention in the quarterfinals.

USA and Brazil went head-to-head for the tournament title and an automatic berth to the 2026 FIBA World Cup in a rematch of the last AmeriCup final.

USA’s bench – excluding a silent Kneepkens – outscored Brazil 35-1 to overshadow a 35-point performance from Brazil’s Damiris Dantas. This was ultimately enough for USA to pull away in the fourth quarter to reclaim the championship trophy, winning 92-84.

“What a performance by our team,” said USA head coach Kara Lawson. “We knew it was going to be just a tough, physical game and it was what we expected.”

USA’s victory earned it the only automatic spot in the upcoming World Cup, and Mexico’s seventh-place finish landed it just one spot outside of earning a bid to a qualifying tournament.

Kneepkens and Jaquez will reunite in Westwood for summer training as the Bruins prepare for the 2025-2026 season.