The US women’s basketball team defeated China 83-61 in the gold-medal game of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney. It was the team’s 30th consecutive win and 11th overall title, and fourth straight World Cup gold. The victory now qualifies USA Basketball for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“I think that what we showed is that our league and the WNBA and professional basketball players in the United States are really, really good,” said coach Cheryl Reeve. “And the depth of the talent that we have was on display.”
The victory over China was the largest margin of victory in a World Cup final.
The U.S. went undefeated through group play, setting an all-time record for points differential in World Cup tournament, with a 40.7 margin of victory.
Which makes this World Cup win even more impressive was the new look roster that made history.
This current U.S. team includes only five members of the team that won the gold medal in Tokyo 2020.
This younger, new look, World Cup team ushered in a new era of women hoops. There was no Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, nor Sylvia Fowles. The imprisonment and absence of Brittney Griner also forced this team to forge a new identity in qualifying for Paris.
USA basketball doesn’t rebuild, they reload.
“We know everybody wants to beat us. Everybody wants what we have, and that’s gold medals and victories and things like that, and with that comes pressure,” said two-time Olympic gold medalist Breanna Stewart. “We have amazing players who handle that pressure and perform at the highest stages possible.
“It’s just embracing that, not fighting it and knowing that all the legends before us, what they’ve done, how they’ve won, things like that, yes, each team is different and we need to make our imprint on history.”
Tournament MVP A’ja Wilson fresh off a WNBA Championship with the Las Vegas Aces, led this unique record setting squad that saw them have the highest scoring game in FIBA history and run their unbeaten streak to 30 games and counting.
The U.S. women’s basketball team has not lost a game in international competition since 1994. Their last defeat was during a 2006 World Cup game against Russia.
“It’s been incredible, (it’s) just a journey to continue to lay that foundation down,” said Wilson. “So many of the greats have been in front of us and they laid it down and now it’s our turn to step up and be in that situation.”
“I’ve had players where A’ja is, you win a WNBA championship, you come over and you win gold,” said USA Coach Reeve. “It’s really, really special. And they make it look easy, it’s not. They’re tremendously talented, A’ja is tremendously talented.
“I don’t think we’re showing signs of stopping, that’s for sure,” the 27-year-old Stewart said. “Our age has definitely gone down [since Tokyo]. But we have a lot of people who are just new into the league, entering their prime, in their prime. It’s tough to stop.”
In the bronze medal match, Australia beat Canada 95-65 for third place.
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