Massengale, Tuck Help Lead U.S. to World Championship

It's been a good year for Lady Raiders standouts Ariel Massengale and Morgan Tuck.

In November both signed letters of intent to play for two of the top NCAA women's basketball programs in the nation— and . 

The dynamic duo helped the Lady Raiders cruise to a before helping the team win its . 

After the season, Massengale was .

Just consider their most recent accomplishment—helping the U.S. U19 women's national team to a world championship over the weekend—the icing on their otherwise very large cake. 

Both Massengale, now a former Lady Raider who will be playing at Tennessee in the fall, and Tuck, who will join Massengale in college basketball the following year, played vital roles in the United States' run to a second-straight FIBA world championship in Chile on Sunday.

The U.S. defeated Spain 69-46 in the final. Earlier in the weekend, the USA squad dispatched France 70-64 and romped past Brazil 82-66 to qualify for the title game.

Massengale scored 10 points against Spain, including two three-pointers, and added seven assists. 

Tuck, one of the youngest players on the team, scored five points against France and added a basket against Spain.

Both local stars played key roles on last year’s U17 world champion U.S.squad.

In all, Massengale finished the tournament with a team-high 39 assists while averaging 7.2 points per game. Massengale was also a defensive anchor, snatching 39 defensive rebounds.

Tuck, meanwhile, averaged 3.5 points per game in limited minutes.

 Editor's Note: Information from a Valley View School District release was used in this report.