U.S. wins fifth straight women's hoops World Cup — SkimNews
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- U.S. women's basketball team beat France 97-79 to win a fifth consecutive FIBA Women's World Cup, improving to 9-0 in gold-medal games since 1983 and extending a 36-game World Cup winning streak dating to the 2006 semifinal loss to Russia.
- France opened the game on a 21-4 run to build a 14-point first-half lead, but the Americans closed the half on a Caitlin Clark 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull within 45-43.
- Breanna Stewart, named tournament MVP, finished with 22 points and her fourth World Cup title; Jackie Young added 18 as the veterans carried the second-youngest U.S. roster ever sent to a World Cup.
- The U.S. opened the third quarter with an 11-2 run, then used a 16-3 spurt later in the period — capped by France being whistled for two unsportsmanlike fouls on the same play — to push the lead to 73-57 heading into the fourth.
- France's Dominique Malonga scored 21 points and Gabby Williams added 20 in the French team's best-ever World Cup finish, two years after a one-point loss to the U.S. in the 2024 Paris Olympic gold-medal game.
- Spain beat host Germany to win the bronze medal.
Why it matters: The U.S. has now won five straight World Cups and 36 consecutive games in the event, a dynasty that survived its tightest test of the streak — including a three-point pool-play win over Italy and a 10-point semifinal over Spain. The second-youngest roster in program history, featuring first-time national-team players Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers, leaned on veterans Stewart and Young to close out a French team still smarting from its 2024 Olympic final loss.
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