BERLIN – The undefeated United States women’s national basketball team navigated its closest contest at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in 20 years on Sunday, grinding out a tense 55-52 victory over a gritty Italian squad that threatened to end the Americans’ historic decades-long winning run.
Sunday’s win stretched the U.S.’s consecutive World Cup victory streak to 32 games, a run that dates back to a 2006 semifinal loss to Russia. In the 18 years spanning this undefeated stretch, only one other opponent has pulled within single digits of the star-studded American side: Australia, which fell by eight points back in the 2010 iteration of the tournament.
Entering the matchup with a 2-0 preliminary round record, the U.S. faced far stiffer resistance than expected from Italy, which was making its first World Cup appearance since 1994. The Americans posted their lowest point total in a World Cup preliminary round game since 1971, when the squad notched just 51 points against France. Italy’s disruptive 2-3 zone defense completely threw off the U.S. offensive rhythm, holding the favorites to just 29% field goal shooting overall and a dismal 1-for-12 performance from three-point range.
After holding a 30-24 lead at halftime, the U.S. saw Italy storm out of the locker room with an 11-2 third-quarter run to grab a 35-32 advantage. The Americans regrouped slightly to take a 42-39 lead into the final frame, but Italy refused to collapse, even after falling to the U.S. by a lopsided 34 points in a March qualifying matchup. With just 4 minutes and 29 seconds remaining in regulation, Italy pulled ahead 50-48, setting the stage for a dramatic closing stretch.
The U.S. responded with a critical 7-0 game-changing run to retake control. Breanna Stewart, who had missed her first eight shot attempts of the contest, netted her first basket to put the Americans up 51-50. On Italy’s next possession, the U.S. drew an offensive foul call, and Jackie Young capitalized with a fast layup to extend the lead. After a successful defensive stop, Chelsea Gray knocked down a jumper to push the U.S. advantage to five points.
Italy did not back down: young standout Matilde Villa scored to cut the U.S. lead back to three points with under 60 seconds left on the clock. The U.S. failed to convert on two opportunities to build an insurmountable two-possession lead, leaving the door open for Italy to force overtime. Italian wing Cecilia Zandalasini, who finished the game with a team-high 14 points, received an open look at a game-tying three-pointer as the buzzer sounded, but her shot bounced off the rim, securing the narrow U.S. win.
Jackie Young led the American squad with 10 points in the low-scoring affair. A loud pro-Italy crowd filled the arena for the matchup, though a number of U.S. fans were in attendance, sporting gear for collegiate and WNBA stars including Caitlin Clark, who led the U.S. to a lopsided win over China in the tournament opener, and UConn standout Paige Bueckers.
Italy entered the matchup with a 1-1 preliminary round record, having opened its World Cup return with a win over the Czech Republic. In other Sunday matchups, China secured an overtime win against the Czech Republic, Australia defeated Turkey, and Belgium pulled out a victory over Puerto Rico.
Looking ahead to Monday’s final pool play games, Italy will square off against China, while the U.S. will face the Czech Republic as it aims to extend its historic 32-game winning streak further into the tournament.