Italy, led by Cecilia Zandalasini of the Golden State Valkyries, qualified to play in its first global championship since the 1996 Olympics. It took third at the 2025 EuroBasket, its best finish at that continental tournament since 1995.<\/p>\n
Zandalasini (game-high 14 points) missed a three-pointer with three seconds left that could have sent the game into overtime.<\/p>\n
The U.S., without reigning Olympic, World Cup, WNBA and WNBA Finals MVP A\u2019ja Wilson, shot 29% from the field, including 1 for 12 on three-pointers. Jackie Young led the team with 10 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do have to be able to win when you don\u2019t have your fastball,\u201d said Kara Lawson, in her first global championship as U.S. head coach after succeeding 2024 Olympic coach Chery Reeve. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have our fastball tonight, but we figured it out late. We\u2019ll grow from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson and fellow Olympic gold medalist Kelsey Plum were replaced on the roster for health reasons in the week leading up to the tournament.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has won 32 consecutive FIBA World Cup games since its last defeat in the semifinals in 2006 to Russia. Before Sunday, its closest game during the win streak was 83-75 over Australia in 2010.<\/p>\n
The U.S. scored fewer than 70 points in a World Cup game for the first time since the 2006 loss to Russia and had its fewest point total in a global championship game since 1971.<\/p>\n
The U.S. opened this World Cup with a 94-61 victory over China on Friday in a rematch of the 2022 World Cup final.<\/p>\n
At the Paris Olympics, the U.S. was tested by France in the gold-medal game, winning that 67-66 in its closest Olympic game since its last defeat at the Games in the semifinals in 1992. The three-point win on Sunday marked its second-smallest margin of victory in any Olympic or World Cup game since a loss to Brazil in 1994.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be in these tough positions because we want to get ready for what\u2019s to come,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. finishes group play against Czechia on Monday at 2:45 p.m. ET. After that come the knockout rounds, including the quarterfinals on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so hard to win in the World Cup,\u201d Lawson said. \u201cI know our history is so accomplished at our federation, and we all know the expectation is for us to win, but every single one of those wins came hard. I said this before the start of the tournament, I think this is the most challenging World Cup to win of any one before. There\u2019s much more depth to the rosters at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery game feels like a dog fight. It\u2019s really hard, and on any given night if you\u2019re not prepared to play, you\u2019ll lose. That\u2019s awesome for our sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Caitlin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788731414_977_.png\")
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