Breanna Stewart leads the way as Team USA heads to FIBA Womens World Cup gold medal game

The U.S.women’s basketball team is headed back to the FIBA Women’s World Cup gold medal game. But the road to get there should serve as a reminder that the Americans aren’t as invincible as in previous years. The Americans pulled away from Spain late in the semifinals Saturday in Berlin, winning 76-66 to punch their ticket to Sunday’s championship game.

They will face France in a rematch of the gold medal game at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “This is our standard here with Team USA,” said Breanna Stewart, who scored a team-high 16 points.“It’s literally about us.

Everything that we do is going to dictate what happens in [Sunday’s] game and making sure that’s the main focus as we continue to look inward.” Stewart is right.For the U.S., reaching the World Cup final has become almost routine.

The Americans entered this year’s tournament as four-time defending champions and had not lost a World Cup game since the 2006 semifinals (when it was known as the FIBA World Championship for Women). Saturday marked Team USA’s 71st consecutive win between Olympic and FIBA World Cup/Championship action. But the road back to the final hasn’t been seamless for the U.S., which has shown flashes of mortality in Berlin. The Americans needed a late escape against Italy in the group stage to win 55-52 before rediscovering their dominant form against Hungary in the quarterfinals Thursday. Spain, however, presented a far different challenge. The U.S.trailed Spain for most of the first quarter.

Spain’s early 9-1 lead marked the largest deficit the Americans had faced in the 2026 World Cup.Prior to Saturday, the U.S.

hadn’t been down by more than three points in this competition. Spain’s defense strained the Americans, forcing turnovers and contesting shots. When Spain’s offense got cold, the Americans didn’t consistently capitalize. The two were tied at 58 entering the fourth quarter.That’s when Team USA’s experience and composure took ...