Team USA entered the FIBA Women’s World Cup as the clear favorite. After all, the nation is seeking its fifth straight title in the competition. On Sunday, however, it suffered a major scare against Italy.
The Italians nearly upset the Americans in the showdown, even taking a two-point lead halfway through the fourth quarter in a game that saw both sides struggle offensively.
Fortunately, Team USA came alive in the final three and a half minutes of play, going on a 5-2 run to escape with a 55-52 victory.
The Americans also benefited from their elite defense down the stretch. In particular, Chelsea Gray drew an offensive foul from Italian forward Cecilia Zandalasini with 3:03 remaining on the clock. It was a game-changing moment for Team USA since Italy would have taken a 52-51 lead had it not been called and had Zandalasini scored.
Jackie Young led Team USA in scoring with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. No other member of Team USA scored more than two field goals.
Angel Reese added eight points, three rebounds, one steal and two blocks. Meanwhile, Breanna Stewart had five points and 11 rebounds.
Brett Davis-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Unsurprisingly, Team USA head coach Kara Lawson was not happy with the squad’s performance. While she did give credit to Gray for her defense and Stewart for dominating the glass, she pointed out what was lacking in their performance.
“Let this be the last time that a team plays with more passion than us throughout the course of the game,” Lawson said in a passionate locker room speech. “Let this be the last time that all 12 don’t show up to compete at a high level. And then let this be the last time that we lack a resilient mindset, because we’re so upset that we’re not scoring the way we’re normally scoring. That to me is what we’ve gotta grow and mature in moving forward.”
Lawson added, “Your contribution is not limited to how well you score the ball. Your contribution has to be your effort, your passion, your energy, your intensity that you play with, all right? We gotta be the hardest playing team in this tournament. We will not win on our talent, even though our talent is awesome. But we will not win on it.”
Considering the talent the team boasts, it’s hard to imagine Team USA struggling as badly offensively as it did on Sunday. Still, as Lawson stated, they cannot simply let their opponents outplay and outhustle them in any contest — be it a tight one or a blowout.
The good news for Team USA is that it is now through to the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup following its latest win. Now, the players can move on from their latest performance and just focus on their next game in their bid to defend the title.
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