MORAGA, Calif. – The already-storied career of Sam Simons continues to blossom as the sophomore from Australia has earned a spot on the Australian Gems squad. The team will compete with the world's best this summer at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup.
 
The Gems will prepare for the World Cup with a 10-day tour which includes a four-nation tournament in France against Belgium and Russia. At the World Cup itself, No.7-ranked Australia will take on No. 1 USA, Hungary (14th) and Korea (15th) in the group stage. From there, all teams will advance to the single-elimination Round of 16 ahead of the quarterfinals, semis, and medal rounds.
 
Simons is accustomed to international competition with the Gems as she most recently led the U18 squad to a third-place finish at the FIBA World Championships in Bengaluru, India in November. She has also been a part of multiple world championships which included a gold-medal finish in Spain in 2016.
 
The South Australia native had a big rookie season with Saint Mary's last year, finding herself on the All-West Coast Conference Freshman Team after playing in all 33 games for the Gaels with 14 starts. She finished the year ranked fifth in the conference with a .405 three-point field goal percentage and was seventh in overall field goal percentage (.497). All-in-all, she averaged 11.1 points and 3.5 rebounds while leading SMC with 53 treys on the year. She was also named an Honorable Mention in the NCAA Women: Midseason Australia Awards  
 
"Competing for my country and wearing the green and gold is a feeling that can't be replicated," said Simons. "It's one of the biggest honors any Australian can have, so to be able to do it is something really special to me. The ability to go to overseas again to play in a new place is something that excites me, and I can't wait to do it with a lot of my close friends and teammates."
 
For the full release from Basketball Australia, click here.
 
The Australian Gems 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup schedule (all times PST):
July 19: Gems vs. USA at 10:15pm
July 20: Gems vs. Hungary at 10:15pm
July 21: Gems vs. Korea at 10:00pm
July 24: Round of 16
July 26: Quarter-Finals
July 27: Semi-Finals
July 28: Medal Games
 
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