SANTIAGO (Chile) – Puerto Rico’s sharpshooters were locked in during their final game of the Group Phase, draining 15 three-pointers to tie the record for most in a single FIBA Women’s AmeriCup game, as they defeated Chile 75-38. The win secured second place in Group B for the Boricuas in the tournament held at the Centro de Deportes Colectivos in Santiago. Puerto Rico (3-1) will face Argentina, third place team in Group A, in the Quarter-Finals. Chile (0-4), meanwhile, says goodbye to the tournament without securing a win in front of its home crowd.
Turning point
In the second quarter, Puerto Rico’s offense began to rain down threes, hitting seven in the period. That surge gave them a 21-point lead at halftime (45-24), putting the win well within reach. The team then sealed the game by taking the third quarter 17-8.
Player of the game
India Pagán earned top honors, finishing as the game’s leading scorer with 18 points. The Puerto Rican forward added six rebounds and was perfect from the field (7/7 FG, including 2/2 from long range). Her only miss came on one of her three trips to the free-throw line.
Jacqueline Benítez (15 points, 8 rebounds) and Arella Guirantes (12 points) also stood out for the Caribbean team. For Chile, Bárbara Cousiño led the way with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Stats don’t lie
Puerto Rico’s 15 made three-pointers tie the all-time single-game record in Women’s AmeriCup history (since 2003). The mark was previously reached by Canada (in 2012 vs. Virgin Islands) and Brazil (in 2023 vs. Venezuela). The Puerto Rican team made theirs on 33 attempts for an impressive 45 percent from beyond the arc. They also pulled down 61 rebounds, their highest total in the Women’s AmeriCup (since 2003), surpassing their previous best of 59 set in 2019 against Mexico.
Bottom line
Pamela Rosado moved into second place on the all-time Women’s AmeriCup assists leaderboard with her 5 dimes on the night, reaching 117 total assists. The Puerto Rican veteran passed Cuba’s Ineidis Casanova (116) and now trails only Argentina’s Melissa Gretter (127), who is also active in this edition of the tournament. As if that weren’t enough, Rosado also reached 41 career games played in the Women’s AmeriCup, tying for second place all-time with Cubans Suchitel Ávila and Yamara Amargo. The all-time leader is Canada’s Kim Gaucher with 43. All stats are recorded from 2003 onward.
They said
In addition to her 18 points and flawless shooting performance, India Pagán emphasized her team’s defensive intensity. “Today we had a lot of confidence in ourselves to get the win. We played really well defensively as a team. I think we brought incredible intensity on that end, and when you add how well we shot the three, it made for a great win,” the forward said in the postgame press conference.
FIBA