Team USA starts off the tourney with a 94-61 win over China.

Caitlin Clark scores 14 points and hands out 11 assists (with 0 turnovers) to lead the US. Paige Bueckers and Rhyne Howard also dropped 14 for the Americans.

Up next: Italy on Sunday

USA 55 Italy 52

The US shot an atrocious 29% from the floor (8% (1-12) from 3) but somehow managed to survive the Italians.

Jackie Young leads the Americans with 10 points.

With the win, the US automatically advances to the quarterfinals.

Probably best for the United States that they are back at it tomorrow to close out pool play against Czechia at 2:45 EDT.

Wow, I didn't realize Italy was that good.

1 minute ago, theguru said:

Wow, I didn't realize Italy was that good.

They aren't terrible, but they shouldn't have been this close to the Americans. The US beat them by 34 in the qualifiers. The United States just played that badly on offense. Their defensive effort was great, but they couldn't hit a 3 or a layup for most of the game. Hopefully just a blip. It is hard to think they will shoot that badly again.

United States 105 Czechia 64

US rebounds from yesterdays underwhelming performance with a convincing route.

Breanna Stewart leads the US with 19 points. All 12 players on the American roster scored.

Up next is the quarterfinals on Thursday against the winner of Hungary and Japan.

Hungary tops Japan, 84-63.

United States vs Hungary on Thursday. Set your alarms for the 5:30AM start on Thursday.

I had thought that by now the coaching staff would have figured out the best rotations. It's so easy to see that when Clark and the younger players get into the game, things start to click. That's backed up by the stats as well. In the Hungary game, the starters/veterans were up 9 when Clark, Bueckers, and another younger player came in at 4:07 (maybe Reese?). They ran it to 47-18 when she pulled Clark at 6:20. They had outscored Hungary 29-9, which is way better than the starters had done.

United States 108 Hungary 56

Naphessa Collier leads the US with 19 points. Kaleeah Copper, Jackie Young and Caitlin Clark all added 10 points (and Clark had a game high 9 assists).

The Americans had 59 points at half. They could have gone scoreless in the second half and still won by 3, their defense was that dominant today.

Up next: Spain in the Semi-finals on Saturday. This is shaping up to be an Olympic gold medal rematch with France in the finals.

4 hours ago, 24Rocks said:

I had thought that by now the coaching staff would have figured out the best rotations. It's so easy to see that when Clark and the younger players get into the game, things start to click. That's backed up by the stats as well. In the Hungary game, the starters/veterans were up 9 when Clark, Bueckers, and another younger player came in at 4:07 (maybe Reese?). They ran it to 47-18 when she pulled Clark at 6:20. They had outscored Hungary 29-9, which is way better than the starters had done.

In the coaching staffs defense, they kind of got thrown for a mini loop when A'ja Wilson withdrew from the tournament just before the start. She was going to be the rock around which the rest of the gameplan was built and with little notice, she was out. So they were "scrambling" a little bit. The rotations have been fine. With the exception of the game against Italy, where everyone on Team USA struggled, they have been highly effective. Spain will be a challenge and we will see how they handle it. France will be the bear.

United States 76 Spain 66

Team USA is lucky to be moving on to the finals as they played another less than stellar game. Zero flow on offense. Lucky for them Spain couldn't keep from fouling. US won this game at the line, going 27-35 (to Spain's 10-11)

Breanna Stewart leads the Americans with 16.

They had better bring their A+ game tomorrow or France will wipe the floor with them. Hopefully they will keep their trend of following a dud with a really great performance.

Finals tomorrow: USA vs France at 2:00.

I will try to watch, but if my daughter has her way, it will be Bengals and Bucs.

United States 97 France 79

Breanna Steward leads with 22 points (the first American to score over 20 in a game during the tournament) as the US takes home their 5th straight FIBA World Cup gold.

SHOCKED that the US won by this much. I thought of all teams in the field, France was the one that would give the US a run for their money. For a half they did. France led by 2 at the half, but the US defense in the second half was as good as it had been all tourney and they ran away with the game in the third, outscoring France 30-12.

I'm sure both teams will be doing some retooling before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Congrats to Team USA.

A lot was made about the more veteran members of Team USA not respecting or caring for the "young and turnt" members of the squad this year. I quasi-get it. The core of Team USA is changing. The Taurasi's, Griners and other's are retired or near retirement and veterans in any sport never want to feel old. But the fact is, when the "Young and Turnt" crew was allowed to play and played well, the US won and won easily. When they were limited and didn't play well, Team USA struggled.

China (94-61 win):

Clark - 25 minutes, 14 points, 11 assists

Bueckers - 20 minutes, 14 points

Howard - 18 minutes, 14 points

Italy (55-52 win):

Clark - 19 minutes, 1 point, 1 assist

Bueckers - 19 minutes, 7 points

Howard - 9 minutes 2 points

Czechia (105-64 win):

Clark - 22 minutes, 9 points, 7 assists

Bueckers - 19 minutes, 10 points

Reese - 20 minutes, 13 points

Hungary (108-56 win):

Clark - 20 minutes, 10 points, 9 assists

Bueckers - 20 minutes, 7 points

Howard - 17 minutes, 15 points

Spain (76-66 win):

Clark - 16 minutes, 1 point, 1 assist

Bueckers - 17 minutes, 6 points

Howard - 11 minutes, 5 points

Reese - 12 minutes, 5 points

France (97-79 win):

Clark - 13 minutes, 12 points, 3 assists

Bueckers - 3 minutes, 0 points

Howard - 17 minutes, 2 points, 4 steals

It will be interesting to see the team make-up in Los Angeles in 2 years. Plenty of other young talented players out there that could make an impact.