Napheesa Collier of USA goes for a layup in the course of the FIBA Ladies’s Basketball World Cup Germany 2026 quarter-final between USA and Hungary at Berlin Area on September 10, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. (Picture by Mami Yasui/FIBA by way of Getty Photographs)
It didn’t matter that it’s her World Cup debut or that her WNBA teammate wore the opposing group’s uniform; Napheesa Collier was unstoppable.
The previous UConn ladies’s basketball star dominated on each ends of the ground to steer Group USA to its 12th consecutive World Cup semifinal look.
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Because of Collier’s game-high 19 factors, the USA shut down fellow former Husky star and Collier’s Minnesota Lynx teammate Dorka Juhász to defeat Hungary, 108-56, in Thursday’s World Cup quarterfinals in Berlin, Germany.
The People will face the winner of Spain-Australia (2:30 p.m. on Thursday) in Saturday’s semifinal (time TBD) for an opportunity to maneuver on to Sunday’s gold-medal sport.
Led by Collier, 5 gamers completed in double-digit scoring for Group USA. Caitlin Clark dished out a game-high 9 assists, whereas Collier, Kahleah Copper and Angel Reese every completed with six rebounds.
Fellow Huskies Breanna Stewart (eight factors, three rebounds, two assists) and Paige Bueckers (seven factors, three assists, one rebound and one steal) had been two of 10 gamers with 5 factors or extra for the U.S.
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Hungary, which final reached the World Cup quarterfinals in 1986 (additionally misplaced to the U.S.), was led by Reka Lelik with 12 factors and Juhász with a game-high eight rebounds. Juhász, who was named the EuroLeague MVP in April, averaged double-doubles in Hungary’s first 4 video games of this yr’s event, however completed Thursday’s sport with simply two factors on 1-of-12 taking pictures for her worst efficiency of the event.
America punched first and punched exhausting to open Thursday’s quarterfinals. Collier set the tone on each ends. First, the Minnesota Lynx celebrity blocked her WNBA teammate, Juhász, two minutes into the sport. Then, Collier went off on offense and scored a game-high 10 factors within the first 10 minutes.
Hungary couldn’t sustain and did not defend Collier’s signature step-back fadeaway as the previous Husky put the U.S. up by 20 with a little bit over a minute left within the body because of her go-to shot. Stewart additionally bought in on the enjoyable, even scoring the primary bucket of the day. The previous UConn teammates mixed for 9 of Group USA’s first 13 factors, 15 of its first 36 and 17 of its first 59.
The U.S. used an 18-3 run to interrupt open the sport within the first quarter and efficiently shut down Juhász early. The Hungary star, who led all gamers with 5 rebounds at halftime, missed her first seven pictures and didn’t rating her first basket till the two:26 mark within the second quarter.
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Group USA pressured Juhász and Hungary’s total frontcourt exhausting within the paint. Because of its aggressive protection and Collier and Stewart, the U.S. had extra factors within the paint (32) than Hungary (30) had whole factors at halftime (Group USA led 32-4 within the paint at intermission).
The People led by as a lot as 34 within the first half, scoring 25 factors off Hungary’s 14 first-half turnovers and taking pictures 65% from the ground.
Collier, who completed 9-of-13 from the ground with six rebounds, chipped in 9 extra factors within the first six minutes of the third quarter to push the U.S.’s result in over 40. Her 19 whole factors marked her best-ever when enjoying for Group USA’s senior nationwide group in a non-qualifying occasion.
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Thursday’s win extends Group USA’s World Cup win streak to 34 straight video games throughout the final 20 years. The People completed Thursday with a 59 discipline objective share, 42 rebounds, 17 steals and 44 factors off Hungary’s 27 turnovers. Group USA outscored Hungary 52-16 within the paint. The U.S.’s 31 assists set the file for probably the most in a World Cup quarterfinal sport.
After ending group section 3-0, the U.S. saved its greatest for the knockout spherical. Its 108 factors and 52-point win in opposition to Hungary marked Group USA’s highest-scoring sport and largest margin of victory up to now on this yr’s World Cup.
