Team USA defeated Czechia 105-64 on Monday, September 7 in Berlin, Germany, completing a 3-0 sweep of Group D at the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. The victory, the 33rd consecutive World Cup win for the Americans dating back to 2006, came after a narrow 55-52 win over Italy.
Breanna Stewart led the U.S. with 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in 17 minutes. Angel Reese added 13 points, while Napheesa Collier and Jackie Young each scored 12, and Paige Bueckers and Sonia Citron contributed 10 points apiece. The team had six players score in double figures.
Collier stated the team delivered a strong response after the previous game, noting, "I thought it was a great response that we had from yesterday's game. Obviously, we didn't shoot well, but coming out with the aggression that we did, especially on defense, I thought our on ball defense was pretty good. I saw a lot of people got their hands in."
Stewart, named player of the game, expressed her desire to lead the team, saying, “I wanted to come out and really lead this team in a number of ways. We wanted to make sure today we really took things into our own hands and really lead by example.” Stewart is appearing in her fourth World Cup, joining Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi as the only American women to achieve that milestone. A gold medal win would tie Stewart with Bird for the most World Cup gold medals.
Following the close victory against Italy, USA head coach Kara Lawson challenged her team’s passion, competitiveness, and intensity. She stated, “Let this be the last time that a team plays with more passion than us throughout the course of the game. Let this be the last time that all 12 (players) don't show up to compete at a high level. And then let this be the last time that we lack a resilient mindset because we're so upset that we're not scoring the way we're normally scoring. Your contribution has to be your effort, your passion, your energy, your intensity that you play with.”
Team USA will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will play the winner of the Japan-Hungary game on Thursday, September 10.
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