Team USA 3-0 at Women's World Cup; Young gets A+, Gray D+ — SkimNews
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- Team USA finished group stage 3-0 with a 105-64 win over Czechia, extending their FIBA Women's World Cup winning streak to 33 consecutive games, and now awaits Hungary or Japan in Thursday's quarterfinals
- Jackie Young earned the only A+ grade after leading the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game on 53.8% shooting and scoring six of Team USA's 13 fourth-quarter points in the narrow Italy win
- Caitlin Clark received a B+ despite recording a historic 14-point, 11-assist double-double against China and then going zero-for from the field against Italy — the first missed-field-goal game of her college, WNBA and Team USA career
- Paige Bueckers earned an A in her World Cup debut, averaging 10.3 points per game on a team-best 59.1% shooting and 3.7 assists across the three group games
- Breanna Stewart bounced back from a 1-of-9 shooting night against Italy to post a 19-point, 7-rebound, 6-assist performance against Czechia — the best single game by any American in the group stage — while leading the team at 8.3 rebounds per game
- Chelsea Gray drew a D+ after averaging just 3.7 points (team low) on 30.7% shooting with only three total assists and zero rebounds in 39 minutes, continuing her post-Olympics slump that saw her average 1.3 points on 16.7% shooting at the 2024 Games
- Kahleah Copper received a D after being a surprise fifth starter, scoring just 16 points on 3-of-14 shooting across all three group games with only one assist and no steals
Why it matters: Team USA's 33-game World Cup winning streak rolls into Thursday's quarterfinals, but the individual grades surface real concerns for head coach Kara Lawson: Clark's historic zero-field-goal game against Italy, Gray's continued offensive struggles (zero rebounds in 39 minutes as a starting point guard), and Copper's 3-of-14 shooting mark as a surprise starter leave multiple lineup questions heading into the knockout rounds without injured star A'ja Wilson.
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