Shakira Austin’s FIBA success builds on her banner year

Shakira Austin continues to add to her banner year. The 22-year-old put up a monster performance Friday to lead all scorers in the United States’ latest game at the FIBA World Cup.

Austin posted 19 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks off the bench in Team USA’s 106-42 win over Puerto Rico.

The Washington Mystics rookie was the only one from her class to be named to Team USA for this year’s World Cup after she averaged 8.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game during the WNBA’s regular season.

After being named to the All-SEC First Team during her final season at Ole Miss, Austin was drafted No. 3 overall. From there, the only direction has been up for Austin, who started 32 out of 36 games in her rookie season.

As a result of her success in the WNBA, Austin was named to the league’s All-Rookie Team.

And now, she’s doing the same thing she’s been doing all year down in Australia. With her performance Friday, Austin is currently averaging 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game through the first two games of her first-ever World Cup tournament.