USA Defeats Spain to Reach FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Final

The United States are back in familiar territory.

In Berlin on Saturday, the four-time defending champions were pushed to the edge by a fearless Spain, then slammed the door in the final quarter to win 76-66 and book a fifth straight Fiba Women’s Basketball World Cup final.

Spain swing first, USA stagger

For once, the Americans looked rattled early.

Spain tore into them, sprinting to a 13-4 lead midway through the first quarter, moving the ball crisply and refusing to be intimidated by the star power in front of them. The US attack, usually so fluid, clanked and stalled, and the world champions found themselves in an unfamiliar position: chasing.

By halftime, the gap was narrow but the warning signs were clear. The US led only 39-36, their rhythm still off, their perimeter shooting ice cold. Spain had matched their physicality and, crucially, their belief.

The third quarter only tightened the screws. María Conde and Iyana Martín drilled three-pointers early in the period, wiping out the deficit and sending a jolt of noise through the arena. Every US miss from deep fed Spanish confidence. Every Spanish make turned the semi-final into a genuine contest, not a coronation.

When Martín calmly sank two free throws with 53 seconds left in the third to tie the game at 58, the champions suddenly looked vulnerable. The streak, the aura, the dominance – all of it sat on a knife-edge.

Stewart steadies, Young and Copper strike

The response was ruthless.

Kahleah Copper and Jackie Young opened the fourth quarter with quick scores, punching a hole in Spain’s resistance. The tempo changed. So did the body language. The US stopped reacting and started dictating.

Breanna Stewart, quiet by her own towering standards for stretches of the night, stepped into the moment. She scored and orchestrated, helping the Americans carve out breathing room at last. Each possession felt heavier now, and the US played like a team that has lived in these moments for nearly two decades.

The lead stretched to eight with just over six minutes to play, the defensive clamps tightening as Spain’s looks grew more hurried. Then came the play that effectively killed the upset bid: Young jumped a passing lane, raced away and finished a layup to make it 76-64 with 1:42 remaining.

Spain had swung hard. The champions had absorbed it and hit back harder.

Stewart finished with 16 points, the anchor and closer when it mattered most. Copper added 13, her aggression a constant outlet when the offense bogged down. Young chipped in 12, including that dagger steal and finish that finally broke Spanish resistance.

Spain’s brave stand, USA’s brutal standard

Spain did almost everything a challenger needs to do against this US machine.

Conde and Martín each scored 17 points, carrying the scoring load and refusing to fade when the Americans threatened to pull away. Defensively, Spain were disciplined and stubborn, holding the US to just 40% shooting from the field. They chased shooters, battled on the glass, and never let the game turn into a track meet.

They also exposed a glaring US weakness on the night: three-point shooting. The Americans went a miserable three of 18 from beyond the arc. Caitlin Clark, under the brightest of spotlights, endured a night to forget, finishing with just one point and missing all three of her attempts from deep.

And yet, even with all that going in their favor, Spain still could not crack the code.

Because this is what the US do at World Cups. They bend, they wobble, they look human for a quarter, a half, sometimes longer. Then they close the vise.

A streak that defines an era

The victory pushes the Americans’ World Cup winning streak to 35 games. They have not lost at this tournament since a semi-final defeat to Russia in 2006. An entire generation of players has come and gone in that time; the standard has not shifted.

Now comes France in Sunday’s final, after the French swept past host Germany 86-64.

Spain asked all the right questions in Berlin and still fell short. France will have to find something even more ferocious to stop a team that, when the fourth quarter arrives and the pressure spikes, almost always finds a way to remind everyone why the crown has not moved in 18 years.