SANTIAGO (Chile) — There are several common threads tying together head coach Kara Lawson, assistant coach DeLisha Milton-Jones, and Chile. The duo were teammates on the United States squad that won gold at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup held in Chile in 2007. Eighteen years later, they returned to the same country and led USA to another gold medal, but this time from the sidelines.
“I think it’s so strange, but beautiful at the same time,” Milton-Jones said in an interview with FIBA Americas. “Beautiful because I’ve done this before, but on the court. Now I’m on the sidelines, using my experience and motivation to will the current players to a victory. It’s amazing to see your life really come full circle.”
Lawson was a key guard on the 2007 title-winning squad. She explained the significance of the national team in her career and why she is appreciative to return to Chile as a coach this time.
“I feel extremely thankful to be a part of this federation. USA Basketball has such a rich history, and I have intimate knowledge of that history because I was a player in the program. And when you play in this program, I think you have to pay it forward,” she told FIBA Americas.
Kara Lawson
Both rosters featured strong backcourt play. In 2007, future Hall of Famers Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird led the way, with Cappie Pondexter dishing a team-high 4.8 assists per game. This year, Olivia Miles averaged 7.1 assists and Hannah Hidalgo 4.6 at the controls.
Candace Parker was dominant in the paint in Valdivia in 2007, averaging 13.8 points, 4 rebounds and 2.4 steals. In Santiago, center Raegan Beers put up 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and shot 51.1 percent from the field.
The shooting parallels were striking. In 2007, Taurasi made 1.8 three-pointers per game at 47.4 percent and Lawson 1.6 at 47.1 percent, bombing from the outside. In 2025, Gianna Kneepkens led the U.S. with 1.9 threes per game at 50 percent.
Milton-Jones, who averaged 6.8 points and 4.6 rebounds (in 15.6 minutes in 2007), did a little bit of everything out of the forward position, much like forward Grace Van Slooten did this year with 7.3 points and 6.0 rebounds.
The assistant coach also noticed echoes of her game in forward Hannah Stuelke, who averaged 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in the 2025 tournament.
“Her game probably matches mine with the aggressiveness she plays with,” Milton-Jones said. “She is going to be where she needs to be defensively. She’s going to play with physicality and intensity, rebound the ball, and do all the little things.”
DeLisha Milton-Jones
Beers drew a similar Milton-Jones comparison after remembering her coach’s player stories regarding her “giving them the business” in 2007.
“Probably a little bit of Joyce (Edwards) and Grace because of the hustle and running all over getting the rebounds too,” Beers explained while laughing at the memory.
Meanwhile, Lawson saw herself in AmeriCup 2025 MVP Mikayla Blakes and in Hidalgo’s competitive fire.
“
In terms of being a combo guard, I say Mikayla Blakes is the most similar to how I play, and a bit of Hidalgo in terms of how I competed,” Lawson said.
The similarities are everywhere, and the coaching pair is right in the middle of them. Lawson and Milton-Johnson, who met in 1999 and have been friends ever since, navigated wildly successful college, WNBA, and national careers together.
“My relationship with Kara is one where it doesn’t matter how much time or distance has come between us, we always pick up where we left off,” Milton-Jones said in a statement from USA Basketball. “And anytime you’re in a position where you share special moments, especially within the family of USA Basketball, there’s a sisterhood that has been built.”
That chemistry and familiarity were something they were hoping to impart to the new generations.
After all, they’ve been there and done that. And yes, that includes going all the way.
“I know what it feels like the night before a gold medal game,” Lawson said in a statement from USA Basketball. “I know what it feels like in the heat of a gold medal game. You just have these experiences that, if you haven’t been through it, you’ve only heard about it or read about it, and it’s different when it happens to you.”
The U.S. beat Brazil 92–84 in the final, snapping the South Americans’ 14-game winning streak and avenging their 2023 final loss. It was the USA’s third Women’s AmeriCup title in the last four editions and fifth overall.
FIBA