The Kara Lawson era is off to a dominant start. At the FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, its first competitive action since the Paris Olympics, Team USA set the tone for the next cycle with a 110-46 win over Senegal.

The Americans brought a young squad to Puerto Rico, with six players making their debuts on the senior national team: Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kiki Iriafen, Rae Burrell and Monique Billings. Lawson leaned on the team’s experience to start, but the most notable performances came from the newbies and Rhyne Howard, the youngest of the remaining six.

Clark had a double-double with 17 points and 12 assists in her first full game since July 15. Her passing was an immediate value-add for Team USA, as she assisted on her first three touches: There was an empty-side pick-and-roll with Billings, a feed to Kelsey Plum for 3 from the top of the key and a transition assist to Billings. It took until the final minutes of the first half for a teammate to even miss a shot off a Clark pass.

Clark and Rhyne Howard had a particularly good rapport, as the pair found each other for multiple 3-pointers on kickouts and skip passes. The duo has played together for Team USA at the junior level, memorably for the gold-winning 2019 U-19 squad, and their chemistry was still evident. Howard led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

Clark scored her first bucket, a 3-pointer off a handoff, with 1:22 to play in the first quarter and showed no rust on her shot (4 of 5 from the field, 5 of 5 on free throws) after her long layoff due to injury. The Indiana Fever guard missed significant time during her sophomore season as she struggled with various injuries.

She also found Billings and Iriafen in the paint for their first senior national team scores. Bueckers and Reese made their first baskets in the second quarter in expected fashion — Bueckers hit a midrange jumper, and Reese grabbed a rebound and pushed in transition. Burrell was the last debutant player to get on the board in the final frame.

Caitlin Clark finds Paige Bueckers for the bucket 💪

(via @usabasketball)
pic.twitter.com/33JFzc6f9z

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 11, 2026

Team USA will have at most one more camp before selecting a roster for the World Cup in September, and the competition on the perimeter was on display Wednesday. Nearly every perimeter player expected to be in consideration for Germany — except for Sabrina Ionescu — is in Puerto Rico, and Lawson will have difficult decisions to make between experience and new blood.

The starting guards all appeared in Paris (Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kahleah Copper). The second unit featured another Paris Olympian in Plum plus Clark and Howard, and Bueckers didn’t get her first minutes until the second quarter. Burrell didn’t take the court until the fourth quarter. Presumably, Bueckers (who was second-team all-WNBA in 2025) won’t remain seventh on the depth chart, but a tough group is ahead of her.

The frontcourt competition was of less interest since so many World Cup hopefuls were absent, including A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Aliyah Boston. Dearica Hamby and Billings acquitted themselves well defensively and in rolling to the rim. Reese and Iriafen chipped in 6 points apiece but had some foul trouble in the new setting (four and three fouls, respectively). With limited frontcourt depth, Lawson even fielded a small lineup to start the second half with Young and Howard at the three and four positions.

The Americans have four games in the next six days, so expect more experimentation and minutes management for the veterans. The tournament opener confirmed that everyone on this roster, even the many new faces, is ready for the international challenge.