Medina Dixon facts for kids
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| Born | November 2, 1962 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | November 8, 2021 (aged 59) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medina Dixon was an American basketball player born in Boston, Massachusetts. She was born on November 2, 1962, and passed away on November 8, 2021. Medina was a key player for the United States women's national basketball team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She won three important medals during her time playing for the USA. Medina first played college basketball at South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball for one season. After that, she transferred to Old Dominion University, where she played for three more seasons.
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Playing Basketball in College
Medina Dixon was a very talented player in college. She played for two different universities. First, she played for the University of South Carolina. Then, she moved to Old Dominion University.
At Old Dominion, she became a star player. She scored many points and helped her team a lot. In her best season, 1983-84, she scored over 20 points per game. She also grabbed more than 10 rebounds per game. This means she was great at both scoring and getting the ball back after shots.
Playing for Team USA
Medina Dixon proudly played for the United States women's national basketball team. She helped her country win several medals in big international competitions.
Winning Gold at the World Championship
In July 1990, Medina played for the US team at the World Championships. This big tournament was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The team played incredibly well, winning all eight of their games. This amazing performance earned them the gold medal! Medina was a strong contributor, scoring 8.3 points in each game. She also had the second-highest number of assists on the team.
Bronze Medal at the Pan American Games
Medina also played for Team USA at the 1991 Pan American Games. The team won four games and lost two. Even with those two losses, they still managed to win the bronze medal.
They had a tough game against Brazil, losing by just three points. But they bounced back with wins against Argentina and Cuba. These wins helped them get into the medal round. They faced Cuba again in the next game, and Cuba won this time. Finally, the USA team easily beat Canada to secure the bronze medal. Medina averaged 7.8 points per game during this tournament.
Olympic Bronze in Barcelona
In 1992, Medina Dixon played in the biggest sports event of all: the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. She was the top scorer for the USA team, averaging 15.8 points per game.
Medina led the team in scoring against China. This set up a very important game against the Unified Team in the medal round. The US team lost that game 79–73, even though Medina had an incredible game. She scored 28 points, which was a record for a US player in a single Olympic game at that time!
After that, the USA team played Cuba for the bronze medal. The game was very close at halftime. Cuba had a small lead in the second half, but the USA team fought back. They went on a scoring run to take the lead and ended up winning 88–74. This victory earned them the Olympic bronze medal.
Medina Dixon passed away on November 8, 2021, due to pancreatic cancer. She will always be remembered as a great basketball player for her country.
See also
In Spanish: Medina Dixon para niños
