The United States Women’s National Team started its bid for a fifth straight FIBA World Cup title with a decisive win on Friday, defeating China 94-61 in Berlin on the shoulders of 14 points apiece from Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark and Rhyne Howard.
Bueckers had the most efficient afternoon of the bunch, making 6-of-9 attempts from the field while also dishing out four assists. Clark shot 4-of-9 from the field overall, making a trio of 3-pointers in addition to leading the team with 11 assists. Howard’s attempts came nearly exclusively from beyond the arc, as she went 4-of-11 from deep with 12 total shot attempts.
After the United States brought a 13-point advantage to the second quarter, China opened the frame on a 9-3 run that briefly cut the Americans' lead to seven points, 30-23, and was the only real point of turbulence all day for the team composed of WNBA All-Stars. From that point, the United States closed the first half on a 19-6 run that ballooned its lead to 49-29 at halftime and all but put the game on ice.
Caitlin Clark was quick to praise her teammates postgame, especially those who have previously won gold medals.
"I'm super excited," said Clark postgame. "I think being surrounded by five people who have won gold medals before at the highest level—you just try to follow their lead and take every bit of wisdom that they can give you. Whatever role I have, I'm going to come in and do it to the best of my ability and play hard.
"I look around on our team and there's so many talented people. A joy to be here, be in Germany, and thought the crowd was fun too."
The biggest worry for the United States heading into this opening game was how they would deal with China’s size, considering they have 7-foot-3 center Ziyu Zhang and another 6-foot-8 center in Xu Han. Despite that, the United States still managed to outrebound China 47-41 for the game and got six-plus rebounds apiece from Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. Predictably, Reese led the way in that regard with nine boards in 17 minutes of action.
Team USA: Three Takeaways
USA Will Be Just Fine Without Wilson, Plum
There was some concern about how the United States would respond to A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum’s last-second absence, but the youth movement proved they have more than enough talent and yes, experience, to run the table in this World Cup in dominant fashion.
Stewart and Collier, the team’s veteran leaders, clearly have no issue deferring to their younger counterparts and are experienced enough to know when they need to shoulder more of the load. Bueckers' and Clark’s styles meshed especially well, and it’s hard not to daydream about how dominant that pairing could be in international play for years to come.
Caitlin Clark had 14 PTS & 10 AST in USA's 33-point win!
(via @FIBAWWC) pic.twitter.com/VIEPcFgc07
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) September 4, 2026
Youth Movement Expands Beyond the Biggest Stars
We’ve known for a while now that this 2026 FIBA World Cup was going to be defined by the younger guard, most notably Clark, Bueckers and Reese. However, the impact young talent has on this team’s success goes way beyond the most notable stars. Every member of Team USA’s bench, save for 26-year-old Rhyne Howard, is currently age 24 or younger. That means every member of Team USA’s bench was born post-2000, considering the bench scored 61 of the team’s 94 points (65 percent!) on Friday.
The larger point is, from top to bottom, the United States national team is moving between eras. That doesn’t mean stars like Wilson, Stewart, Plum and Collier won’t be vital toward the next iteration, but like we saw with the men’s national team in the mid-to-late 2010s, the international game will likely start to take a backseat for them as this new crop continues to emerge.
Paige Bueckers scored 10 of her 14 points in the 4th quarter of USA's 94-61 win
(via @FIBAWWC) pic.twitter.com/y4vJeR3JJD
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) September 4, 2026
Ziyu Zhang Has a Ways to Go
Heading into this opening game against China, the eyes of WNBA scouts in attendance were fixated almost exclusively on China’s 7-foot-3 center prospect Ziyu Zhang. While her size can’t be taught and her skills can certainly be polished enough to the point of being serviceable, what was abundantly clear on Friday was that the 19-year-old is simply not ready to be a plus-player at the WNBA level anytime soon.
Angel Reese, who is an entire foot shorter than Zhang, had little to no trouble making things too difficult in the paint for Zhang to manage. The WNBA is arguably the most physical basketball league on the planet, and Friday proved that Zhang is not yet tough enough to be considered a legitimate can’t-miss prospect at the next level.
6'3" Angel Reese guarding 7'3" Zhang Ziyu
(via @BleacherReport) pic.twitter.com/m0e3UEVyVV https://t.co/eiOShTFUQ8
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) September 4, 2026
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