Workforce USA obtained all it might deal with from Italy in Sunday’s FIBA Girls’s World Cup recreation.
The Stars and Stripes jumped out to a 19-8 lead by the top of the primary quarter and held on to win by a rating of 55-52, although the competition wasn’t with out its justifiable share of lead adjustments and controversies.
Italy led by three halfway by means of the fourth quarter and even had an opportunity to tie the sport on the ultimate shot the place an Italian participant appeared like she might have been fouled.
CAITLIN CLARK NOT IN TEAM USA’S STARTING 5 FOR FIBA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WORLD CUP OPENER VS CHINA
Caitlin Clark #12 of the USA Basketball Girls’s Nationwide Workforce appears on throughout a recreation in opposition to the Italy Girls’s Nationwide Workforce in the course of the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Match on Sept. 6 at Berlin Area in Berlin, Germany. (NBAE through Getty Photos)
However the game-tying try sailed to the left of the rim and landed harmlessly into the arms of Breanna Stewart, ending the risk.
Workforce USA shot a putrid 1-12 from past the arc (8%) and solely made 29% of their area targets general, highlighting simply how a lot work nonetheless must be finished if this staff desires to make a run on the title.
ANGEL REESE VS. 7’3″ DOUGHY CHINESE TOWER ZHANG ZIYU WAS A BATTLE FOR THE AGES AT THE FIBA WORLD CUP
Italy’s Cecilia Zandalasini led all scorers with 14 factors to go together with seven rebounds and was the unquestioned star in a recreation stuffed with them.
Napheesa Collier, Kahleah Copper, Breanna Stewart and Chelsea Grey of the USA Girls’s Nationwide Workforce look on throughout a recreation in opposition to China on the FIBA Girls’s Basketball World Cup 2026 on Sept. 4, 2026, at Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, Germany. (NBAE)
For the People, Jackie Younger led with a team-high 10 factors and was the one participant to shoot above 40% from the sphere.
Had the Italians held on to win, it might have been probably the most monumental upsets in FIBA Girls’s World Cup historical past.
With the win, the U.S. ladies improved to 2-0 in group play and have now certified for the quarterfinals of the match.
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Caitlin Clark in the course of the Girls’s FIBA World Cup 2026 between the U.S. and China on Sept. 4, 2026, in Berlin, Germany. (NurPhoto)
Time will inform if this group of ladies has what it takes to carry some {hardware} residence from Germany, but when they do not wish to go away empty-handed, they are going to want their heavy hitters to step up, particularly Caitlin Clark, who completed with only one level and was held with out a area aim for the whole recreation.
