US win 3rd straight women’s hoops World Cup
Spain beat Belgium 67-60 to claim bronze medal
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LA LAGUNA, Spain, Oct 1, (AP): 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.
Bird now is the most decorated athlete in World Cup history, winning four gold medals and one bronze.
The victory gave the US 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 US 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 post season MVP, added the MVP of the World Cup to her resume after scoring 10 points in the championship game.
Brittney Griner scored 15 points to lead the US 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.
Taurasi, who scored 13 points, helped the US get off to a strong start with a 10-0 lead. Australia could only get within three the rest of the way. It was the first time in the tournament that the US didn’t trail in a game.
The US led 35-27 at the half and didn’t give Australia any chance to come back, scoring the first nine points of the third quarter.
This was Australia’s best finish at the World Cup since 2006.
As the flags of the three medalists were being raised during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Australia’s fell down midway through the song. It drew some laughs and shocked expressions from the Opal players. Cambage tweeted, “our shots didn’t fall but our flag did.”
Staley had 103 in her three World Cups while Bird now has 107. The US coach had joked after the semifinal win that she would sit Bird for the gold medal game to keep the record. Bird arguably had it easier than Staley because FIBA changed the way it counted assists in 2014, giving one to a player if her pass led to free throws.
Spain beat Belgium 67-60 to win the bronze medal. Canada edged Nigeria 73-72 to finish seventh while France topped China 81-67 to come in fifth.