Golden Gabbi

Gabbi Ortiz has always spent her summers in her hometown of Racine, Wis., but an invitation from USA Basketball quickly changed her vacation plans.

The sophomore guard and reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year drew rave reviews during her first season at Oklahoma. Ortiz was the main distributor in the Sooners' offense, averaging 3.8 assists per game and 8.2 points per game.

Starting all 33 games as a freshman and helping OU to the second round of the NCAA Tournament might require most to take a little rest and a summer break, but not Ortiz. She jumped at the chance to wear the red, white and blue on the international level at the FIBA U19 World Championships in Russia.

Ortiz joins former Sooner Courtney Paris as gold medal winners for the United States at the FIBA U19 World Championships.

“When I first got the invite to play for Team USA, I was obviously caught off guard but extremely excited,” Ortiz said. “I knew I was going to miss workouts with the team over the summer, but you can't turn down this kind of experience.”

The experience with Team USA provided Ortiz with plenty of new opportunities, including traveling outside of the United States for the first time in her life. Ortiz and her teammates first spent time in Spain for training camp with USA Basketball before departing for Russia.

I've never had a player come back from international competition and not make our team better in the gym.
— Sherri Coale

“I was excited to go overseas for the first time in my life, but I didn't what to expect,” Ortiz added. “I was a little worried at first. I was really excited to go to Spain because it's such a beautiful country. I got to see the Mediterranean Sea, which was beautiful.”

For the event, Team USA went a perfect 7-0 en route to its sixth straight gold medal at the U19 World Championships with Ortiz starting every game at point guard. She may have saved her best game for the gold medal round, where the United States topped Russia in its own gym.

“You can't really describe the emotions. You're playing Russia in their home gym. It was sold out and it's loud but you know you're trying to win a gold medal for the United States. The game got tight at the end, but winning a gold medal was an amazing thing.”

At the end of the journey, Ortiz got a chance to share the moment with her dad who never misses a game.

Ortiz's dad, Shawn, made the trip to Russia and has yet to miss a game Gabbi has played in.

“My dad is still on his streak,” Gabbi laughed. “He had to go through the process of getting a visa to get over there and I know that was hard on him. He got to see every game and it was an experience like no other. I can't thank him enough for just being here.”

The experienced gained by Ortiz at the FIBA U19 World Championships will prove valuable for the sophomore and especially for the Sooners.

History proves that it will. Courtney Paris led the USA to a gold medal in 2005 at the FIBA U19 World Championships before guiding OU to back-to-back Final Four appearances. Former Sooners like Danielle Robinson and Aaryn Ellenberg also gained valuable experience from their time with USA Basketball.

When I first got the invite to play for Team USA, I was obviously caught off guard but extremely excited. I knew I was going to miss workouts with the team over the summer, but you can't turn down this kind of experience.
— Gabbi Ortiz

“I've never had a player come back from international competition and not make our team better in the gym,” head coach Sherri Coale said. “I remember the first time Stacy Dales came back from the Olympics in 2000 with Team Canada and the zip on her passes during a 3-on-3 drill was just a little quicker than everyone else in the gym. I think when you play at that elite level, it makes you raise your game so much more.”

“This opportunity gave Gabbi an opportunity to stretch her horizons,” Coale said. “She's a kid that dreams of playing for the national team some day and this is the road that you get on to have an opportunity to do that.”

But what caught most coaches' eyes around the Big 12 was her presence as a floor general, not to mention that she started every game and led OU in minutes played as a freshman. Now, heading into her second season with the Sooners she feels like she can raise her level of play.

And after finally returning home in late July, Ortiz got some much needed rest.

Now it's time to begin a new year.

For more information on Oklahoma women's basketball, follow the Sooners on Twitter (@OU_WBBall) or like Oklahoma Sooners Women's Basketball on Facebook.

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