USA extended their impressive FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup legacy with yet another title success as they fought off France 97-79 in the showpiece game in Berlin, Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A packed Berlin Arena watched as USA came back from a 14-point deficit in the first-half to take victory. Jackie Young saved her best performance of the competition for the final, coming up with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it was another masterclass from Breanna Stewart that mattered most. She was outstanding and posted a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stewart made history as the first player to be crowned a two-time FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup MVP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I think that we were ready. We were ready for that challenge. We were locked in,” explained Stewart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Credit to France, they are a really tough team. I think my message to the team before the game was like, ‘we are the standard’. USA basketball has continued to go for gold for how ever many times consecutively and it’s an insane stat and we want to continue to build on that standard.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I am really happy that we let the rest of the world know that our goal is always gold. I pride myself being on being consistently great and that is showing up in the big moments and the small moments – and all the moments in between.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She continued: “I believe that I always have a chance to win no matter what happens in the game and I hope that rubs off on my teammates<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“At the same time, this is my fourth World Cup, which is nuts. I know what it takes to win at this level. I know the highs and lows and continue to ride through it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Playing in their maiden Final, France were led across the competition by the impressive Gabby Williams and registered their highest ever finish, having taken third place at the inaugural edition back in 1953.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stewart was joined on the All-Star Five by her USA teammate Jackie Young, as well as Gabby Williams of France, Iyana Martin of Spain and Leonie Fiebich of Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In one of the most highly anticipated title games of the modern era, it had looked like France might make history with a first ever title, getting onto the front foot early and amassing a 14-point lead at the beginning of the second quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But by the break, the USA had cut the gap to 45-43 after a last-second triple from Caitlin Clark. That ensured it was the narrowest first-half lead recorded in competition history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Setting the scene perfectly for when the teams returned, the USA continued their eye-catching work. They put their foot on the gas and took control to extend their stunning legacy in the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Breanna Stewart was once again the heart and soul of the team with a monumental double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds for a performance efficiency valuation of 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jackie Young also provided an extra boost on the offensive end with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France\u2019s defense cracked in the second quarter as the USA scored 26 points, then added 30 more in the third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This USA team played its best basketball in the most important moment of the tournament. Winning culture, gold DNA, mental toughness – call it whatever you wish. They are still the No. 1 team in the world and extended their winning streak in the competition to 36 games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A classy 22-point display from Iyana Martin inspired Spain in the Third-Place game as they eased out Germany 81-58. It secured her team their fourth medal in five editions, while the host nation had the consolation of posting their highest ever finish in the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2026 edition also set a record-breaking attendance for the competition. A total of 236,015 fans in Berlin surpassed the previous record of 145,519 in 2022 – despite fewer games being played in the German capital. The tournament set a new benchmark with an unprecedented average game attendance of 6,556.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final standings of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. USA 2. France 3. Spain 4. Germany 5. Belgium 6. Australia 7. China 8. Hungary 9. Italy 10. Korea 11. Puerto Rico 12. Japan 13. Mali 14. T\u00fcrkiye 15. Czechia 16. Nigeria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" USA extended their impressive FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup legacy with yet another title success as they fought<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[52],"class_list":["post-15736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-basketball"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t