USA Open Women’s World Cup With 94-61 Rout of China as Clark, Bueckers Debut

The United States made a commanding start to its bid for a fifth consecutive FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup title, beating China 94-61 in Friday's Group D opener at Berlin's Max-Schmeling-Halle. The 33-point margin reflected the Americans' dominance throughout the game and lifted their all-time World Cup record against China to 9-0. The match was a rematch of the 2022 final, when the US won 83-61 in Sydney.

The game also marked the World Cup debuts of Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese. They joined veterans A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier on a roster combining the core of the 2022 champions with a new generation reshaping the WNBA. Clark, who missed the 2024 Paris Olympics after playing just 12 WNBA games and was named MVP of March's qualifying tournament, and Bueckers, a guard for the Dallas Wings and two-time NCAA champion, entered the tournament as its most closely watched newcomers. Aliyah Boston completed the group of four players making their first major international appearances for the senior national team.

The result extended the United States' dominance from qualifying, where the team went 5-0 with an average winning margin of 42 points. That run included a 34-point victory over Italy, one of Friday's Group D opponents, and an 84-70 win over Spain in the final round. Coach Kara Lawson's team has not trailed in international play since this roster was assembled.

China entered the tournament as the United States' most familiar World Cup opponent and arrived in Berlin with ambitions of its own. The Chinese team defeated the US in group-stage games at the 1986 and 1998 World Championships and won silver in 2022. China qualified for Berlin through the Asian qualifying tournament in Wuhan. Friday's 33-point defeat suggests the gap seen in Sydney four years ago has not narrowed significantly, although group-stage results rarely determine how the quarterfinals and semifinals will unfold.

The United States will next face Italy on Sunday and Czechia on Monday before the group stage concludes. Group winners will advance directly to the quarterfinals on September 10, while teams finishing second and third will play classification games on September 8 and 9. The semifinals are scheduled for September 12 and the final for September 13. Germany, hosting its first World Cup since 1998, will open Group A against Japan on Friday in a match tournament organizers expect to draw the event's signature crowd.

This is the first time FIBA has expanded the Women's World Cup to 16 teams, up from 12. Italy qualified for the tournament in Berlin for the first time in 32 years, while Hungary ended a 28-year absence. The expanded field reflects what FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis described at the draw as recognition that women's basketball had outgrown the previous format. The WNBA scheduled a three-week break to accommodate the tournament, which runs through September 13.

Wilson, a four-time WNBA MVP who led the 2022 team in points and rebounds and was named that tournament's MVP, said before the competition that she does not take representing the United States lightly and was looking forward to enjoying the experience while pursuing victory. Wilson's experience, combined with the first World Cup appearances of Clark and Bueckers, gives this US team a different profile from its predecessors — one built for the specific demands of a tournament in which there are no longer any easy draws.

Originally published on HNGN