Facing a very strong French team, the USA (6-0) turned to its veteran leadership to capture the gold medal with a 97-79 victory over France (5-1) on Sunday night in Berlin.
Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young helped lead the red, white and blue to the championship, while Breanna Stewart delivered a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. Stewart was named the World Cup MVP for the second time, following her first MVP honor in 2018.
Young finished with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists and was named the Player of the Game. Gray contributed 12 points, four rebounds and five assists.
France proved to be a formidable opponent from the opening tip. The French team led for much of the first half and held a 45-43 advantage at halftime.
The USA came out of the locker room with a strong third-quarter push, outscoring France 11-2 over the first three and a half minutes. Young capped the run with a field goal that gave the Americans a 54-47 lead.
France stayed within striking distance, but Young knocked down a three-pointer to extend the USA’s advantage to 58-51. After another French basket, Gray made it 60-53 with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Americans continued to pull away, taking a 73-57 lead into the final 10 minutes. France never got the deficit below 10 points during the fourth quarter as the USA closed out the 97-79 victory.
The gold medal marked the second World Cup championship for Gray, who also helped the United States finish atop the podium in 2022.
Young made history with her gold medal, becoming the first player ever to claim NCAA, WNBA, World Cup, Olympics and 3×3 Olympic championships.
Young averaged 12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game during the six-game tournament, while Gray averaged 5.7 points and 2.7 assists.
Spain (4-2) earned the bronze medal after defeating host Germany (4-3), 81-58.
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