USA Wins Fifth Consecutive FIBA Women’s World Cup Title

Breanna Stewart, on Sunday, swung the FIBA Women’s World Cup trophy triumphantly as golden confetti rained down around her.

She played a crucial role in ensuring that Team USA continues to set the standard in women’s basketball.

The Americans overcame an early challenge from France, finally defeating them 97-79 to secure their fifth consecutive World Cup title.

“We were ready,” Stewart mentioned after the game, having earned her second World Cup MVP award with a performance that included 22 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.

Sunday’s matchup was one the U.S. had looked forward to since the start of the tournament. While they respected all their opponents, France was seen as their strongest rival for the gold medal.

This was evident early in the game when France pushed the U.S. to their biggest deficit of the tournament—a 14-point gap in the second quarter.

But the U.S. regrouped and saved their best performance for the final stretch.

They mounted a rally, outscoring France 26-14 to narrow the deficit to just two points by halftime.

Then, during the third quarter, the Americans really took control.

It started with Stewart, who scored a layup to tie the game on Team USA’s first possession and then grabbed a rebound on the next play.

France’s impressive shooting, which had fueled their success in earlier matches, faltered at a critical moment. They managed just one three-pointer in the third quarter while the Americans surged ahead.

Gabby Williams, France’s captain who had previously asserted, “we’re coming for you,” did not score in the third quarter. The U.S. turned the tides with a remarkable 30-12 scoring run.

As they entered the fourth quarter, the Americans were ahead by 16 points and maintained their momentum throughout.

Jackie Young contributed 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Chelsea Gray added 12 points, four rebounds, and five assists.

For France, Williams finished with 20 points and seven assists, while Dominique Malonga added 21 points.

“As a group, especially when we were down, we didn’t fall apart under pressure,” Stewart reflected. “We know basketball is a game of runs, and their run wasn’t going to dictate our performance for the remainder of the game. Continuously building each other’s confidence made a big difference,” she explained.

The night before the game, Stewart was hesitant to frame it as a rematch of the gold medal game from the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, she did say that the team that could better manage their emotions would likely be the one celebrating with gold confetti.

And she was right.

Stewart expressed great pride in Team USA continuing to be seen as the benchmark in women’s basketball, a target for others to aim for.

“USA Basketball has consistently shown up to chase gold,” Stewart said, now a four-time World Cup champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist. “We want to keep building on that reputation and make it clear to the world that our goal is always gold.”

It seems unlikely that this mindset will change anytime soon.