July 26, 2010

Liepaja, Latvia - Earning a spot on Spain's U-20 European Women's Basketball Championship squad, Saint Joseph's sophomore forward Mireia Vila made the most of her opportunity to represent her country, helping her team to a silver medal.

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One of just 12 players selected to represent Spain, Vila averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game. Playing in all nine contests, she finished fifth on the squad in three-point field goals (five) and tied for sixth in assists (eight).

After seeing just nine minutes of playing time in the Group C opener against Italy, Vila scored two points and added three assists and three rebounds in a starting role against Germany. She followed with an eight point, five rebound performance in Spain's 75-67 win over Serbia.

Finishing 3-0 in its group, Spain took the top spot in its qualifying group as it upped its record to 6-0. Averaging 14 minutes a game during the qualifying stage, Vila scored seven points against both Belarus and Turkey as her team marched on to the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, Vila came off the bench to score six points and add two rebounds and an assist as Spain held on for a 75-74 victory over the Ukraine.

Facing host Latvia in the semifinals, the Spanish squad came from behind for a 56-52 victory and a spot in the championship game. A key reserve, Vila grabbed a pair of rebounds in 13 minutes of play.

Battling to the final whistle, Spain dropped a heart-breaking 75-74 decision to Russia in the final seconds of the gold medal game. With her team relying heavily on its five starters, Vila earned two minutes of action as she became just the eighth international Hawk to play for her home country.