USA Advance to FIBA Women’s World Cup Quarterfinals with 55-52 Win Over Italy

06 September 2026

USA 55, ITA 52

The USA (2-0) advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup with a nail-biting 55-52 win over Italy (1-1) Sunday night at Berlin Arena. The two nations met for the first time at the World Cup since improved 1979 and improved to 2-1 all-time vs. Italy. The USA have now won 32 consecutive World Cup games dating back to 2006.

Group D contests conclude Monday vs. Czechia at 2:45 p.m. ET on TNT and HBO Max. The quarterfinals are set for Thursday, Sept. 10 (opponent TBD).

USA-Italy box score | Watch USA postgame press conference

POSTGAME NOTES

Where There’s a Will: In a battle of defensive will, the contest saw 7 ties and 8 lead changes, with the final lead change coming on a Breanna Stewart 2-pointer to put the U.S. up 51-50 with 3:20 to play. The veteran presence made a difference down the stretch with all fourth quarter scoring contributions coming from Stewart, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Napheesa Collier and Kahleah Copper.

Defense Does It: Italy shot 31.0% (18-58 FG, 2-15 3FG) from the field after China went 32.3% (20-62 FG, 5-19 3FG) on Friday. The USA are leading the competition in field goal defense at 31.7% (38-120 FG, 7-34 3FG). Through two games, the opposition hasn’t scored more than 19 points in any quarter (19, China, 4Q). Italy scored only 8 points to tip off tonight’s game and were held to 16-or-under in each period.

Young at Heart: Young scored a team-best 10 points, including 6 in the fourth quarter, for her second double-digit effort of the season. She leads the team with 11.0 points per game to go with 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals through two games.

Stalwart Stewart: Through two games, Stewart is leading the team with 9.0 rebounds per game. Tonight, she had a game-high 11 for the most in her 22 career World Cup games. Stewart has 120 World Cup rebounds and is one of seven Americans all-time with 100+ World Cup rebounds.