Long Beach State University Athletics
Freshman Justina King Begins College Career After Representing Canada
8/31/2018 1:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The freshman led the Canadian U18 team to the championship of the FIBA Americas Championship.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State women's basketball will add to their international flavor this season as 5-8 guard Justina King comes to the Beach after having recently played for Team Canada at the 2018 FIBA U18 Americas Championship.
"I was totally speechless when they told me that I'd made the national team," said King about making the team. "It was mind-blowing. So many emotions were running through my head, I was so happy, so proud so honored to be able to be able to represent my country. Putting on the jerseys was so exciting, since nearly the whole team was new to this competition. It was a really cool experience to share with so many people going through the same thing. It was amazing."
King, a native of Scarborough, Canada, averaged 6.0 points and 2.7 assists per game in an average of 24.3 minutes as the Canadian U18 team reached the finals of the 2018 Americas Championship.
"I actually got invited to the training camp the previous year, and I got cut at the final round," said King. "It really drove me, imagining if I'd made just that one step further to make the national team, so I pushed even more to make it this year. I just knew that I needed to step my game up to another level, and I really focused on my leadership skills. It was good, because I'm a point guard, and you have to be a leader in that position, and so it helped me not only make that team but will help me here at Long Beach State."
Held earlier this month in Mexico City, Team Canada rolled through the group stage, beating Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico to finish on top of their group. King then opened the knockout round with her best performance of the tournament scoring 12 points with a pair of 3-pointers and handing out eight assists against Chile in the quarterfinals.
King then scored nine points in a 77-71 semifinal victory against Argentina before the Canadians fell in the championship to the United States.
King is set to debut for Long Beach State this season in the 2018-19 season opener when the Beach hosts Cal Baptist in the Walter Pyramid on Friday, November 9.
"I was totally speechless when they told me that I'd made the national team," said King about making the team. "It was mind-blowing. So many emotions were running through my head, I was so happy, so proud so honored to be able to be able to represent my country. Putting on the jerseys was so exciting, since nearly the whole team was new to this competition. It was a really cool experience to share with so many people going through the same thing. It was amazing."
King, a native of Scarborough, Canada, averaged 6.0 points and 2.7 assists per game in an average of 24.3 minutes as the Canadian U18 team reached the finals of the 2018 Americas Championship.
"I actually got invited to the training camp the previous year, and I got cut at the final round," said King. "It really drove me, imagining if I'd made just that one step further to make the national team, so I pushed even more to make it this year. I just knew that I needed to step my game up to another level, and I really focused on my leadership skills. It was good, because I'm a point guard, and you have to be a leader in that position, and so it helped me not only make that team but will help me here at Long Beach State."
Held earlier this month in Mexico City, Team Canada rolled through the group stage, beating Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico to finish on top of their group. King then opened the knockout round with her best performance of the tournament scoring 12 points with a pair of 3-pointers and handing out eight assists against Chile in the quarterfinals.
King then scored nine points in a 77-71 semifinal victory against Argentina before the Canadians fell in the championship to the United States.
King is set to debut for Long Beach State this season in the 2018-19 season opener when the Beach hosts Cal Baptist in the Walter Pyramid on Friday, November 9.
Players Mentioned
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