WNBA superstars Breanna Stewart and Jackie Young combined for 40 points to lead Team USA’s impressive 97-79 comeback win over Team France on Sunday in Berlin, where the Americans briefly faced a 14-point second-quarter deficit.
Instead of folding, Stewart & Co. put together a dominant 30-12 third-quarter run to push the country’s FIBA World Cup winning streak to 36 while capturing a fifth straight championship.
What’s more, Team USA now has a six-game winning streak over rival France, including the thrilling 67-66 win in the Finals of the Paris Summer Olympics.
As has been the case throughout the tournament, Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark played a secondary role on coach Kara Lawson’s team, scoring a dozen points in 13 minutes off the bench, while committing four turnovers.
Team USA has not lost a World Cup game since 2006, when they fell to Russia. The Americans are now 9-0 in gold-medal games since their second-place finish in 1983 to the Soviet Union.
And it was Clark’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer before halftime that helped the US to pull within two.
Tournament MVP Breanna Stewart led Team USA on Sunday with 22 points in the win
Caitlin Clark dribbles as she’s defended by Migna Toure of France of during Sunday’s win
Team USA’s Angel Reese leaps into teammate Paige Bueckers’ arms after the victory
The US dominated in the second half, starting the third quarter with a 11-2 run to go up 54-47. Stewart, who has now four World Cup titles to her name, had four points during the game-changing burst.
France was able to get within 55-51, but the Americans used a 16-3 spurt that included France being called for two unsportsmanlike fouls on the same play. The Americans were up 73-57 heading into the fourth quarter, and France never was able to close the gap.
This was the second-youngest team the Americans have sent to a World Cup. There were many newcomers on the roster including Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers, who were getting their first experience with the national team. But it was the veterans who carried the team to the victory.
The Americans faced a 14-point first-half deficit before a late rally before halftime
The Americans had looked more vulnerable in this tournament than at any time during their remarkable run. A three-point win over Italy in pool play was the closest a team has come to the US in the group stage in 50 years. The 10-point victory over Spain was the closest semifinal contest during the streak. The Americans had been winning by an average of 26 points over the past four medal-round games.
None of that matter in the end as the Americans finished the same way they had the previous four World Cup tournaments – as champions.
The loss nevertheless gave France its best finish ever in the event. The French were hoping for the top prize after they came close against the US in the 2024 Paris Olympic gold-medal game two years ago. That one-point loss still stung two years later.
Dominique Malonga scored 21 points and Gabby Williams added 20 for France.
France got off to a strong start. The US trailed 20-17 after the first quarter and the French scored the first 11 points of the second, capped by Williams’ 3-pointer, to take a 31-17 lead. But the Americans rallied and trailed 45-43 at the half on Clark’s 3 just before the buzzer.
Spain topped host Germany to win the bronze medal.
