Caitlin Clark and Team USA finished Group D play with a perfect 3-0 record, ending the group stage of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup with a 105-64 win over Eliska Joklova and Czechia on Monday. Now, Team USA will look ahead to Thursday’s quarterfinals matchup, facing the winner of the opening knockout round matchup between Hungary and Japan.
Since joining the Indiana Fever in 2024, Clark has led the WNBA with 8.5 assists per game. And the former Iowa Hawkeyes guard’s passing has translated to the FIBA World Cup, tallying seven assists against Czechia, to go along with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting.
In Team USA’s opening group stage matchup against China, Clark also tallied 11 assists, but only recorded one against Italy on Sunday.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Still, through three games, Clark is averaging 6.3 assists per game, the third-most in the FIBA World Cup behind Turkey’s Sevgi Uzun (8.3) and Belgium’s Julie Allemand (8.0). But while Clark doesn’t lead the tournament in assists, she is on pace to break Charlotte Sting guard Dawn Staley’s Team USA record for the most assists per game in a single FIBA World Cup.
Staley, now the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team, set the initial record back in the 1998 FIBA World Cup in Berlin, when she recorded 52 assists in nine games, an average of 5.8 assists per game. The United States would go on to take home gold that year after defeating Russia in the final.
Behind Clark and Staley, Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird ranks third and fourth on Team USA’s all-time list after averaging 4.8 assists per game at the 2018 FIBA World Cup in Spain and 4.6 at the 2006 World Cup in Brazil. Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi rounds out the top five, averaging 4.5 assists per game at the 2014 World Cup in Turkey.
If Clark sees her assist numbers slip over the 2026 FIBA World Cup knockout round, Staley could hold on to the top spot for most assists per game at a single World Cup in Team USA history.
Clark and Team USA will learn their quarterfinal fate when Hungary faces Japan on Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. ET.
