The USA women's basketball team continued its run at the FIBA World Cup, holding off Italy, 55-52, in their second game of group play on Sunday, Sept. 6, in Berlin, Germany.
The Americans, who have won four consecutive World Cup titles, won their 32nd consecutive game in the tournament but this one did not come easily. It was their smallest margin of victory since 1979 and lowest shooting percentage (29%) from the floor ever.
"Every single one of those wins came hard. ... and we understand that," said USA coach Kara Lawson, whose team advanced to the quarterfinals with the victory. "You have to have great respect for who you play, you have to prepare in a way to win. And so, it's supposed to be challenging, and we're supposed to have moments where
we're not at our best.
"And the teams that can persevere through that and have a resilient mindset are the ones that are able to win. If you're fortunate enough at the end of the tournament to be the winner, that's why it's so satisfying."
Team USA had faced off against Italy in March at the World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico. Team USA defeated Italy 93-59 behind Kahleah Copper's game-high 15 points, one of five Americans to score in double digits in the March 14 win.
Only one player was in double digits on Sunday: Jackie Young, who scored 10 points to lead the Americans.
Here are the winners and losers for Sunday's game between the USA and Italy:
WINNERS
Chelsea Gray's clutch gene
If there is a clutch basket to be had, Chelsea Gray typically nails it. Gray, like much of Team USA, did not have a great shooting day. Before her eventual game-winning shot, she was 1-of-5 from the floor. However, when the pressure was on, and the United States needed to put some distance between itself and Italy, the veteran guard delivered.
Gray drew a timely charge around the 3-minute mark to shift the momentum, and then sank a gritty two-point jumper with 1:07 left on the clock to put the U.S. up 55-50. The shot couldn't have come at a better time. It forced Italy to take a timeout. The United States was able to walk away with a win thanks for Gray's heroics.
"The shot Chelsea took was a big momentum changing play," Lawson said. "It was an incredible winning play by Gray there."
Angel Reese's defense
While Team USA struggled to make a shot, Reese used her defensive prowess to lock down Italy. She had two blocks, a steal and three rebounds. Reese also scored eight points, making all four free-throws and two field goals.
"She comes into the game, and she plays with great energy, and she competes," Team USA coach Kara Lawson said. "She scores, she rebounds, she plays with great pace. It's what you want in a player, in a young player, to come in and do that. And so that's what I appreciate more about her. She finds a way to make an impact."
Italy's defense
The Italians held the American to a FIBA Women's World Cup worst 28.6% shooting from the field. After opening the game in man-to-man, Italy was down 19-8 at the end of the first quarter. They switched to a zone and caused many problems for the U.S., playing extremely physical basketball, especially inside.
"We wanted to break their rhythm because when they get their rhythm, it's really unstoppable," said Italy forward Cecilia Zandalasini, who had 14 points and seven rebounds. "We try with the zone, we try different matchups, we try some switches and ... did a great, great job on their post player because I know they want to put the ball inside it."
The United States shot 10-for-35 in the paint and 1-for-12 from 3-point land.
LOSERS
Italy controls USA in the paint
Team USA might want to review Sunday's film and then never speak of it again. It was that ugly. It was particularly bad on two-point field goals. The United States was 15-for-44 on 2-pointers and missed more than 20 shots in the paint alone. That just can't happen. Full credit goes to Italy for packing the paint and applying pressure, causing a lot missed shots.
"We got quality looks against their zone and against their man in the paint, exactly where we wanted," Lawson said. "We just missed them. We missed the layups, and so, hopefully, moving forward, we can finish a few more."
The U.S. survived after an awful shooting night. What saved them? Getting to the free-throw line, where it finished 22-for-30. Still, that won't happen every game.
"Obviously, Italy really kind of mucked up the game for us a little bit, and it made it hard on us to score," Breanna Stewart said. "Tough team ... This is a tough tournament, but we all really acknowledge that."
The USA's inability to make a 3
In the opening game of group play, the U.S. shot 12-for-32 from 3-point range in a convincing victory over China. They got hot from beyond the arc in the first half and never looked back.
That was not the case vs. Italy. The U.S. was 1-of-12 from 3. Caitlin Clark was 0-for-3 and Rhyne Howard and Kahleah Cooper were both 0-for-2 from behind the arc. Paige Bueckers hit the lone 3-pointer, with 1:45 to go in the third quarter.
"That was a game plan, and we played with our heart," Italy coach Andrea Capobianco said. "That was the key actually.
"We just gotta keep going. We have another very important game tomorrow. Now, we showed what we're capable of, but we want to keep going and not just stopping here and just lose our head on this game. It's still a very, very long tournament."
Team USA's mystifying field goal problems
Team USA having multiple players without a field goal during a World Cup game is nearly unthinkable. But that's what happened Sunday.
At one point, there were four players without a field goal. Breanna Stewart, who was 0-for-8 late, finally got one to go at the 3:20 mark of the fourth, which turned out to be pivotal in the victory. Guards Caitlin Clark (0-for 6), Kahleah Copper (0-for-4) and Sonia Citron (0-for-1) did not make a basket from the field.
To be fair to the group, they had a lot of shots hit the rim and bounce out. The U.S. will have trouble competing when its stars can't find the net.
The USA will need to find out quickly how to get them going again,. The Americans play Czechia on Monday, Sept. 7 after less than a 24-hour turnaround.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Angel Reese's defense leads USA vs Italy FIBA World Cup winners, losers
