BERLIN, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 13: Players of USA cheer after their victory over France at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Germany 2026 final between France and USA at Berlin Arena on September 13, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Mami Yasui/FIBA via Getty Images) (Mami Yasui/FIBA via Getty Images)
Team USA is golden again.
Its dynasty continues.
The United States defeated France 97-79 in Sunday’s 2026 World Cup final in Berlin to claim its 12th overall and fifth straight World Cup gold. The victory ties the U.S. with the Soviet Union (1959-1975) for the most consecutive World Cup titles.
France gave the U.S. its hardest challenge of this year’s World Cup yet couldn’t overcome the Americans’ third-quarter throttle. The Americans have now won 36 straight World Cup games and extended their streak of not losing a major international tournament game since 2006.
Former UConn women’s basketball great Breanna Stewart earned her fourth-straight World Cup gold medal and led Team USA with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Her pair of free throws less than 20 seconds into the game moved the former Husky up to No. 5 on Team USA’s all-time World Cup career scoring list with 288 total points.
Stewart was named the 2026 FIBA World Cup MVP after averaging 12.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. It’s her second time winning World Cup MVP after also winning the award in 2018. Her career streak of never losing an NCAA Tournament, Olympic and World Cup game continues.
Four other players finished in double-digit scoring for Team USA, including Jackie Young with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. Young was the only player for the U.S. to score in double figures in all six World Cup games and was named MVP for Sunday’s final.
Former Husky Paige Bueckers earned her first World Cup gold, yet only played two and a half minutes in Sunday’s game and did not check back in after halftime.
France was led by Seattle Storm forward Dominique Malonga with 21 points and six rebounds, while fellow former Husky star Gabby Williams followed with 20 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals. Connecticut Sun star Leïla Lacan finished with two points and two assists in 16 minutes. France earned the silver medal for its first World Cup medal finish since the tournament’s inception in 1953.
The U.S. held France to its lowest-scoring point total in the World Cup. The world’s two best teams put on a battle as Sunday’s game featured six lead changes and six ties, including five lead changes and four ties in the first quarter alone.
Spain defeated host country Germany to secure the bronze earlier on Sunday.
After trailing France by 14 in the second quarter, Team USA made its move the second the third quarter started.
Stewart and Collier made back-to-back layups to put Team USA ahead for the first time since the first quarter, less than a minute into the third. The two combined for six points in a 9-2 USA run within the quarter’s first three minutes. And the momentum shift didn’t stop there.
The Americans played with more aggression, intention and energy on both ends. Team USA outscored France 30-12 in the third quarter and not only limited the French to just one made 3-pointer throughout the frame but also kept Williams scoreless the whole quarter.
USA head coach Kara Lawson kept her substitutions limited and leaned on her veterans to keep the flow going. Collier, who had zero points in the first half, came up huge in the second half and finished with six points, seven rebounds and one assist to help win her first World Cup gold.
Team USA extended its lead to 27 at 6:05 in the fourth thanks to a free throw from Angel Reese.
While the U.S. never allowed France to get closer than 14 in the final eight minutes, the first half of Sunday’s gold-medal game told a different story.
France’s offense got hot early – especially from deep. The French went 8-of-14 from the 3-point line in the first half and shot 52% from the floor. Every time Team USA made a move, France, and more specifically Williams, had a counterattack ready to go.
Williams led all players at halftime with 16 points. Her triple at the 7:27 mark in the second quarter capped an 11-0 run for France and put the country ahead by 14 — Team USA’s largest deficit of the World Cup.
The Americans slowly shrunk France’s lead. Stewart and Young combined for 10 points in a less than two-minute span to get the U.S. within six halfway through the second quarter. Chelsea Gray’s long 2-pointer with 90 seconds left shrunk the deficit to three, while Clark’s buzzer-beater corner 3 made it a two-point game at halftime.
The 2030 World Cup will be hosted in Tokyo and, unlike years past, will run after the conclusion of the WNBA season in November and December.
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This article originally published at Breanna Stewart leads Team USA to fifth straight World Cup gold medal with win over France.
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