Eagle River's Alev Kelter will leave the Women's Rugby World Cup as the tournament's fifth-leading scorer — but with no medal.
Kelter and her U.S. teammates lost to France 31-23 in Saturday's bronze-medal match in Belfast, Ireland.
Kelter, a member of last year's Olympic rugby 7s team, scored 13 points Saturday to lead the Americans to a fourth-place finish in the 12-team tournament.
It was best World Cup finish by a U.S. team — men's or women's — since the women placed second at the 1998 World Cup.
A penalty shot by Kelter gave the United States an early 3-0 lead, but France scored 19 straight points to take the lead for good.
Kelter finished the match with three penalties and two conversions. She had a chance to score another try in the second half when she broke loose for a 50-meter run, but at the last second she handed the ball to teammate Cheta Emba, who finished the try.
In five tournament matches, the 26-year-old Kelter tallied 32 points — one try, three penalties, nine conversions — to finish as her team's top scorer and the tournament's fifth-highest scorer.
Leading all scorers was Portia Woodman, who finished with 65 points to help lead New Zealand to its fifth World Cup title. The Black Ferns captured the gold medal Saturday with a 42-31 win over England.
Kelter and the Americans were 2-3 overall, with all of their losses coming to medal-winning teams.