The United States Women’s World Cup basketball team survived a close contest against Italy in the second game of Group Play on Sunday, squeaking by with a 55-52 win.
They became one of two teams to directly qualify for the quarterfinals, which begin on Thursday, September 10th. (France, who beat Hungary 99-52 on Friday and Korea 95-69 on Saturday).
It was a pretty rough showing against an Italian team that has just one WNBA player, particularly on the offensive end, with the United States shooting just 29% from the field and recording more turnovers (14) than assists (11).
Jackie Young, who had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting along with 3 assists, was the only American player to record double-digit points, as well as the only player to record more than two field goals. She was also the only player to tally more than two assists.
But outside of Young, the roster heavily struggled. Caitlin Clark, who was the team’s best player in Friday’s 94-61 win over China, was held to just 1 point on 0-for-6 shooting in 18 minutes. Breanna Stewart scored 5 points on 1-of-9 shooting, and Kahleah Copper scored 6 points on 0-of-4 shooting. The U.S. missed their first 10 attempts from three-point range.
And the outcome of the game was seriously in doubt; the U.S. women trailed by 2 with 4:28 to play when Napheesa Collier (who finished with 6 points) split a pair of free throws off a feed from Young.
Still, the U.S closed things out with an Aliyah Boston – Jackie Young – Chelsea Gray – Breanna Stewart – Kahleah Copper lineup, and saw Stewart, Gray, and Young each score a key bucket in the closing minutes to help hold off the Italian women. Gray also drew a critical charge with 3 minutes to play.
Overall, though, Collier, Gray, Stewart, and Copper — the team’s four national team returners from the 2024 Paris Olympics, along with Young — combined to shoot just 5-of-23 from the field.
As such, it was the team’s lowest-scoring World Cup game since 1971 — and a game that appeared seriously in doubt for much of the second half.
Italy made things difficult for the United States
Golden State Valkyries forward Cecilia Zandalasini led Italy with 14 points, but she missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds. Mariella Santucci added 9 points off the bench for an Italian team playing in its first international tournament since 1996.
Now, the United States women will look to clean up their offense before single-elimination play begins — and teams like France, Australia, and Spain loom. If they don’t, they risk becoming the first U.S. women’s national team to lose since 2006.
Just days before the World Cup, star players A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum were ruled out with injury and replaced with second-year WNBA players Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron. (Iriafen did not play on Sunday, while Citron logged just 5 minutes).
In theory, the roster is so stacked that it should be able to withstand the absence of even the best player in the world. But Sunday’s contest raised some doubts about the United States’ continued ability to dominate international play, especially without Wilson available.
