The United States women’s national basketball team ended FIBA World Cup group play on a relative high note.
The United States women’s national basketball team took advantage of a reality Czech at the end of FIBA Women’s World Cup group play.
Behind an early onslaught from Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart and complementary tallies from Jackie Young, the Americans secured a 105-64 victory over Czechia on Monday in Berlin. The win ensured that Team USA would win Group D over China, Hungary, and Italy, securing the bye to the knockout round’s quarterfinal that comes with such a clinch.
Monday provided redemption for Team USA (3-0), which was less just about 24 hours removed from an uninspired one-possession win over Italy. The Americans left no doubt against a Czech group closing out its first World Cup appearance since 2014, taking a double-figure lead with just about three minutes to go in the first period and never relinquishing such an advantage thereafter.
With the group win, Team USA will face either Hungary or Japan in quarterfinal play on Thursday.
Unrivaled Goes Unrivaled
Fresh off an announcement that their co-funded league Unrivaled would take its show on the road more often, Collier and Stewart put on a show in Berlin: the lauded duo united for 25 of the United States’ first 39 points, with Stewart providing landmark tallies like a three-point that erased the Americans’ only deficit and the double that created a double-figure lead.
Team USA lost no turnovers during the opening period, which ended with the red, white, and blue up 29-15. Stewart kept that blemish-free work rolling through the whole game and shot an efficient 8-of-11 and she also had six assists, all coming in the first half, to pair with seven rebounds. Her early tone-setting allowed the Americans to swiftly handle business against the Czechs, who feature no WNBA players on their roster after Eliška Joklová was waived by the Minnesota Lynx earlier this week.
Familiar faces led the way for Team USA: by the end, 2024 Olympic victors Collier, Stewart, and Young united for 43 points on a day where every American participant entered the scoresheet. Stewart led the way with 19 points while Collier and Young posted a dozen each. Angel Reese led newcomers with 13 points while Rhyne Howard snuffed out Czechia’s hope with six steals.
Breanna Stewart led the way for the United States in today’s win against Czechia
19 PTS | 7 REB | 6 AST | 8-11 FGM@usabasketball finishes 3-0 in FIBA Women’s World Cup Group D action!
(via @FIBAWWC)
pic.twitter.com/7CjNDrIQGe— NBA (@NBA) September 7, 2026
Let’s Get Physical (Again)
Team USA handled business early: by halftime, they outscored their Sunday selves both at the three-point line and on the scoreboard, as well as the assist column.
The struggles against Italy somewhat buried Team USA’s victory over defending finalist China that was strong in more ways than one. Featuring no player taller than 6’4, Czechia attempted to collapse the post but that only opened things further at the top of the key: the Americans were able to get up 25 shots worth an extra point, more than doubling the 12 they had against Italy.
While they missed some open looks from three, diversity was the name of the game with seven different American women hitting one triple each. They also adapted well to the Czechia’s crackdown and collapse, shooting over 63% from mid-range and under the basket. They would outrebound the Czechs by 20 (Kiki Iriafen had 11 alone in just 14 minutes) and picked up 22 second chance points while Czechia mustered but four.
Iriafen, who was a de facto healthy scratch on Sunday, wasn’t the only member of the “young-and-turnt” class to find some form of Labor Day redemption: Paige Bueckers (team-best plus-27) and Sonia Citron (complementing her Washington teammate Iriafen with seven boards) each scored 10 points while Caitlin Clark brought back renewed distribution with seven assists next to nine points. Team USA sank 42 baskets on Monday and all but 10 had a helper attached to them.
Despite that success, it was going to be hard to convince head coach Kara Lawson to make any changes to her primary rotation considering the level of competition. Lawson went with the same starting five for the third straight game, grouping Collier, Stewart, and Young with Kahleah Copper and Chelsea Gray.
French Boast
Monday was no doubt a return to business as usual for Team USA. Faced with rare adversity, veterans like Stewart reclaimed any and all narratives with a standout performance, flanked well by fellow gold bearers Collier and Young.
While the Americans did nearly everything right on Monday, it probably wasn’t enough to make the basketball viewing public forget about the French mastery early in the day: already granted the win in Group B play, the French put forth a 111-56 demolition of Olympic darlings Nigeria. The French sank 22 three-pointers to set a World Cup record (one that stood for but three days, as Japan previously hit 21 against Mali), eight alone coming from the arms of primary agitator Gabby Williams.
The U.S. withstood the French revolution at the last Olympics, though they needed a free throw surge to finish things off in that gold medal game. Team USA played to more of its finesse/physical-merging identity on Monday (hitting just 14 free throws in the win over the Czechs, with Reese going 5-of-11 on her own) but it might take a little more to fully get the rock-solid favorite label back.
Appropriately, the only way that the U.S. and France will face off in Berlin is if they reach the championship final next weekend. Les Bleus await either China or Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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