United States wins third straight women's basketball World Cup crown
Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi shared a hug as the final seconds ran down on a third straight World Cup championship.
The longtime USA Basketball teammates had accomplished another piece of history together.
The pair has been a key part of all three titles and hasn't lost a World Cup game in nearly 12 years, including Sunday night's 73-56 win over Australia in the gold medal game in Spain.
"It means a lot. I was saying yesterday in the press conference that there's this misconception out there that this is easy for us," Bird said. "I get it, because the scores can say that at times. But this isn't easy. We're thrown together and need to figure it out on the fly. We need to peak at the right time. It's extremely satisfying when we get it done."
Bird now is the most decorated athlete in World Cup history, winning four gold medals and one bronze.
The victory gave the U.S. 10 World Cup gold medals and was the 22nd win in a row overall for the Americans dating back to the bronze medal game in 2006. That was the same year that Australia won its only World Cup title. The Americans lost to Russia in the semifinals and haven't lost since in the World Cup or Olympics. The win also made Dawn Staley the first person ever to win a World Cup title as a player, assistant and head coach.
The U.S. didn't have its entire team together until a few days before the tournament started as Bird, Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd were winning the WNBA championship with the Seattle Storm. Stewart, who was the WNBA regular season and postseason MVP, added the MVP of the World Cup to her resume after scoring 10 points in the championship game.
"It's been an incredible few months, that's for sure," Stewart said. "The biggest thing about it all is it's all focused on the team and having the team win."
Brittney Griner scored 15 points to lead the U.S. and anchored a stellar defensive effort against Liz Cambage. Australia's star center came into the game averaging 27.2 points in the tournament, but was held to just seven.
She remained the No. 1 enemy of the Spanish fans, who jeered and whistled every time she touched the ball. Cambage keyed Australia's win over the host nation in the semifinals. Spain won the bronze medal, beating Belgium 67-60 earlier Sunday.