Breanna Stewart set the veteran tone in the gold-medal rotation, scoring 22 points as the United States wiped out a 14-point first-half hole and beat France 97-79 in Berlin on Sunday for its fifth consecutive Women’s FIBA World Cup championship.
United States turns a tight final into another gold medal
Stewart, the U.S. captain, collected her second tournament MVP award and her fourth World Cup title. Jackie Young supplied 18 points, while Caitlin Clark finished with 12 in her first senior national-team World Cup.
The Americans extended their World Cup winning streak to 36 games, a run that began after the 2006 semifinal loss to Russia. They also moved to 9-0 in World Cup gold-medal games since the 1983 final loss to the Soviet Union.
“We set the standard,” Stewart said after celebrating with an American flag around her shoulders. “USA Basketball keeps arriving with gold as the goal. That streak is remarkable, and we want to keep raising that bar for everyone else.”
France gave the Americans their hardest opening stretch of the tournament. The U.S. was down 20-17 after one quarter, then watched France open the second with 11 unanswered points. Gabby Williams’ 3-pointer capped the surge and pushed the French lead to 31-17.
France led by as many as 14, the largest deficit faced by the Americans in this World Cup run since that 2006 defeat. But Stewart and Young helped settle the game before halftime, and Clark drilled a 3-pointer just before the horn to bring the U.S. within 45-43.
“We were in a good spot mentally,” Clark said. “France had made 8 of 14 from three. We put ourselves behind, then worked back into it. Nobody was shaken.”
The second-half rotation flipped the game. The United States opened the third quarter on an 11-2 burst to take a 54-47 edge, with Stewart scoring four points during that run. France briefly pulled within 55-51, but the Americans answered with a 16-3 push.
That decisive stretch included two unsportsmanlike fouls assessed to France on the same possession. The U.S. carried a 73-57 lead into the fourth and never let the French mount another serious charge.
“I’m happy we showed the world that gold is always the objective,” Stewart said. “I’m proud of this group.”
From the locker room
This was the second-youngest U.S. roster ever sent to a World Cup, and the tournament put several first-time senior national-team players on the floor, including Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers. In the final, though, the established core supplied the steadiness after France’s early shot-making burst.
The Americans had appeared more reachable than usual throughout the event. Italy lost to the U.S. by only three points in pool play, the closest group-stage result against the Americans in 50 years. Spain stayed within 10 in the semifinal, the narrowest margin in a semifinal during the streak. The U.S. had won its previous four medal-round games by an average of 26 points.
None of those closer results changed the finish: another American title, and another gold-medal game controlled by the U.S. once its defense and veteran scoring found their footing.
France earned its best-ever World Cup finish despite the loss. Dominique Malonga scored 21 points and Williams added 20 as France chased the championship after its one-point defeat to the United States in the 2024 Paris Olympic final.
Spain defeated host Germany in the bronze-medal game.
SEO Title: Breanna Stewart, USA rally past France for fifth straight World Cup title
SEO Description: Breanna Stewart scored 22 points and earned World Cup MVP as the United States erased a 14-point deficit to beat France 97-79 for a fifth consecutive title.
