Team USA survived a scare from Italy on Sunday evening, escaping its Group D showdown with a 55-52 win.
The Americans were far from their best, but found resilience down the stretch after the Italians gave Team USA a solid test, using physicality to match talent and depth and keep the game close.
The 55 points were the lowest scoring output for a Team USA squad in FIBA World Cup since 1971, when it scored 51 against France.
“In a World Cup, everyone’s beatable, and if you don’t play well, you’re going to be beatable,” USA coach Kara Lawson said. “And if you’re not disciplined, then you’re going to lose. So, tonight, we didn’t have our best. We weren’t as focused as we needed to be. That’s my job to get them where they need to be, and we have another game tomorrow.”
The Americans, who were a 30.5-point favorite, improved to 2-0 in the tournament and qualified for the quarterfinals.
Italy hold USA
to their lowest points total in 42 years, but the reigning Champs survive and advance to the #FIBAWWC Quarter-Finals! pic.twitter.com/Z6g6rfdiMV
— FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWWC) September 6, 2026
After controlling the opening quarter behind their defensive pressure, the Americans took a 19-8 lead into the second frame, but Italy’s tenacity changed the tone. Italy slowed the pace, competed on the glass and forced the United States into a disjointed half-court game.
After shooting 33% from the field in the first half, the Americans finished just 16 of 56 (28.5%) from the floor, including 1 of 12 (8.3%) from 3-point range. It was Team USA’s worst shooting percentage ever in World Cup history.
Jackie Young led the way with 10 points, Angel Reese contributed with eight and Paige Bueckers finished with seven.
Italy was led by Cecilia Zandalasini, who scored a game-high 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and outrebounded USA, 43-42.
The Americans forced 18 Italian turnovers, but committed 14 themselves and struggled to turn their opportunities into sustained offensive momentum.
“Everybody was super encouraging,” Young said. “No one got down because they were missing shots. We just kept motivating each other because we know basketball’s a game of numbers, and you know the ball is eventually going to go in.
“But at the same time, just getting stops on the defensive end, and then whenever it came down late, we were able to make some shots.”
The U.S. has now won 32 straight World Cup games, its last loss at the hands of Russia in the 2006 semifinals. Italy is only the second team to come within single digits of the Americans during this winning stretch, after Australia, which lost by eight points in 2010.
The halftime show made a compilation of the reactions from Italy’s coach (Andrea Capobianco) #FIBAWWC pic.twitter.com/ty06aOJL52
— Danielle H. (@DanielleHobeika) September 6, 2026
TEAM USA: 3 Takeaways From Close Win
Ciao Bella!
Forget the fact that Italy coach Andrea Capobianco was almost as entertaining as the game itself – spending virtually every possession crouching, stomping, waving his arms, and theatrically pleading with officials – he seemingly had his players better prepared than Lawson had her power-packed lineup.
Capobianco, named FIBA’s top coach at the 2025 EuroBasket after leading Italy to bronze, had Italy play fearlessly and contest everything while believing it could pull off a monumental upset in front of a sold-out, frenzied Berlin Arena.
It wasn’t until Team USA’s five-point lead late in the fourth quarter that Lawson found the right lineup to seize control of the game, led by national team veterans Breanna Stewart, Chelsea Gray and Young.
Matilde Villa got Italy within three with less than a minute to go. Though the Americans had a couple of chances to make it a two-possession lead and couldn’t convert, they held on and escaped overtime when Zandalasini’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was off target.
“When you play in a World Cup, you know you’re going to get everybody’s best, and we certainly got Italy’s best tonight,” Lawson said. “I want to give them a ton of credit. For stretches of the game, they played harder than we did, and I’m just proud of our group.
“It was tough. You have tough moments, and we were uncharacteristic in a lot of ways. But in the fourth quarter, when it was winning time, our veterans came through big.”
No Flow
Italy dictated the tempo and made the game physical, while Team USA lacked perimeter shooting and offensive rhythm from the outset. The Americans remained in control, but Italy’s play made it a legitimate contest entering the second half.
The Americans trailed 50-48 with 4:29 remaining before using a 7-0 run to seize control of the game.
Stewart, who missed her first eight shots, gave the U.S. a 51-50 lead with her first bucket of the game. Young hit a layup after the Americans drew an offensive foul against Italy on its next possession, and Gray followed with a pull-up jumper to make it 55-50 with 1:07 left.
Most notably frustrated and at times discombobulated was Caitlin Clark, who went 0 for 6 from the floor, including 0 for 3 from beyond the arc, and had just one assist. She also had two turnovers and finished with a -2 efficiency, one of two Americans in the minus.
Young (4 of 8) was the only player to make more than two field goals. Bueckers (2 of 5), Reese (2 of 5), Gray (2 of 5), Napheesa Collier (2 of 5) and Aliyah Boston (2 of 7) each had two.
“They came out with a lot of energy, they were super physical with us, and you know we came out a little bit flat,” Young said. “Some days some shots are going to go in, some days they don’t. But the one thing we can control is our effort, and we just have to get off to a better start.”
Handling The Zone Next Game?
The U.S. will look to keep its World Cup win streak alive when it plays the Czech Republic on Monday.
To make it 33 in a row, the Americans will need to do better if the Czech Republic follows Italy’s blueprint of using a 2-3 zone defense to disrupt the United States’ offense.
Czechia has been competitive but heartbreaking, opening the tournament 0-2.
Against Italy, Czechia led 32-31 at halftime but was outscored 32-22 after the break, losing 63-54. The Czechs shot below 40% and made only five 3-pointers. Julie Pospíšilová scored 21 points, while Veronika Voráčková added 12 and Eliška Joklová collected 10 rebounds.
Czechia then suffered a brutal 74-70 overtime loss to China. It led for most of the game and held a 64-59 advantage with 27 seconds remaining, but China hit a three, Joklová missed two free throws and Yang Shuyu tied it with three seconds left. Joklová then missed another potential winner before China controlled overtime.
The Czechs defend well and play with discipline, but their fourth-quarter execution and rebounding have left them facing elimination.
“This is kind of the best scenario, I think, as a player and as a coach,” Lawson said. “You have a poor performance. You’re able to escape with a win. You get a chance tomorrow to kind of start moving in the right direction, and a chance to win the pool.”
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