Elina Huffman ’29
Staff Writer
Over the last ten days, professional Women’s Basketball players from around the world came together to participate in the FIBA World Cup. The FIBA World Cup is where 16 national teams all play against each other once, and then after that, the tournament is played in a knockout style. This year, the tournament takes place in Berlin, Germany.
The United States national team had a wide variety of amazing players from the WNBA. A couple of the players from the national team were: Chelsea Gray, Breanna Stewart, and Jackie Young. This U.S. team also had players new to the FIBA World Cup, like Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron, and Angel Reese. Regardless of players being new to the World Cup or not, every single athlete is extremely talented. They formed a very cohesive and competitive team. Also, all of the players on the roster are currently a part of the WNBA, which aids in the fierceness of the team.
The U.S. played six games and beat most of the teams by at least ten points. The only team that even came close to beating them was Italy. The game ended at a close 55–52. For the United States, this was the closest scoring game in the last twenty years. The stars of this game were Jackie Young and Breanna Stewart. Jackie Young scored 10 points, and she also played tremendous defense. Her defense helped them win because one of the other team’s players, Cecilia Zandalasini, missed a buzzer-beater because of Young’s defense. Breanna Stewart also made an impact on the game by getting eleven rebounds. Even though this game was close, the rest of their games were won by a larger margin than that.
Then on the 13th, the women won gold, with a score of 97-79. This is their fifth consecutive time taking home the gold, and their twelfth time overall. In the finals match, they had to compete against France. Some of the players on the French team also compete in the WNBA, such as Gabby Williams, Carla Leite, and Marine Johannes. In the first half of the game, France was winning by 45 points. That did not last because in the second half the United States team had a 27-point lead, which is extremely difficult to have and maintain. The U.S. played an all-around amazing game against France. Even though the other team got an early 14-point lead, that did not deter the United States from putting in their all to the game. They played a strong game both in and out of the paint, whereas France was lacking, especially in rebounds. That is what allowed the U.S. to dominate the game. In total, the winning team had 26 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds. What helped win the game was the United States’ unselfishness when it comes to the game. Jackie Young said, “Not really focused on the individual accolades. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help my team win.” This is truly what allowed them to win.
Image courtesy of Anchorage Daily News
Leave a Reply