Awa Fam on playing in FIBA World Cup
Callie Fin talks with Seattle Storm’s Awa Fam to discuss the upcoming FIBA World Cup.
Sports Seriously
Team USA’s decades-long win streak at the FIBA Women’s World Cup is alive and well after the Americans dispatched China, 94-61, in their tournament opener on Friday, Sept. 4 in Berlin, Germany.
The Americans, who have won four consecutive World Cup titles, have not lost a tournament game since 2006, when Paige Bueckers was 4 years old. Now, Bueckers, Caitlin Clark and the next generation of superstars, who nicknamed themselves the “young and turnt” crew, are helping lead the way.
“They can hoop. They’re going to be great in their own right,” veteran guard Chelsea Gray said of the youngsters. “They’re so good at a young age and they just keep growing every single year. And so with Paige, I see that… I know she can hoop, so it’s just cool to be in the same uniform for a little bit.”
USA TODAY Sports rounded up a list of winners and losers from the Friday’s World Cup opener between the USA and China:
Winners
The ‘young and turnt’ crew
Friday’s win over China marked the World Cup debut for nine of the 12 players on Team USA. It also marked the first major international competition (Word Cup or Olympics) for six of those players — Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Aliyah Boston, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.
The newcomers may be stepping into new territory with the U.S. women’s senior national team, but you wouldn’t be able to tell based off their performance. Bueckers and Clark were among four U.S. players that finished in double digits. Clark had a double-double (14 points, 11 assists) in 25 minutes of play and Bueckers scored 14 points in 20 minutes, all coming in the second half.
“The ‘young and turnt’ crew, they did really well,” veteran Breanna Stewart said. “They just kind of took what they wanted. They were the aggressors. They were confident, and they came in when their number was called. That’s what this team needs. It’s like, no matter what your minutes are gonna be, go out and play hard. Nobody’s gonna do it for you. We have to do it.”
Caitlin Clark with another assist record
Caitlin Clark is not only breaking records in the WNBA, she’s doing so on the international stage. The Indiana Fever guard recorded 14 points and 11 assists in her World Cup debut on Friday, the most assists for an American player in the Women’s World Cup debut since Alyssa Thomas had nine against Belgium in 2022.
“Caitlin (Clark) was terrific, coming off the bench and changing the tempo of the game. Her playmaking with 11 assists,” USA head coach Kara Lawson said in the postgame press conference on Friday.
Clark had no turnovers, becoming the first player to record at least 10 assists with no turnovers in the Women’s World Cup since FIBA started tracking assists in 1994. Clark’s 11-assist mark was two away from tying Belgium’s Julie Allemand (13 assists vs. France in 2018) and Japan’s Yuka Harada (13 assists vs. Kenya in 1994) for the single-game assist record the World Cup.
Rhyne Howard making it rain early from 3-point range
In case you weren’t aware, it’s always “Rhy Time,” and no change of scenery was going to stop that Friday in Berlin. Rhyne Howard 3-point prowess was on full display against China. She was one of four players in double figures against China, finishing with 14 points, including four huge triples.
Two of Howard’s 3-pointers came in the first quarter, giving the U.S. a huge boost as it jumped out in front, and the other two came in the second and third quarters, adding on to Team USA’s lead.
“I thought Rhyne Howard and Jackie Young in the first half — we just had a lot of different people in those moments step up and that’s what we need,” head coach Kara Lawson said postgame. “We’re at our best when we have a lot of different people contributing.”
Zhang Ziyu’s WNBA draft stock
Zhang Ziyu, 19, was borderline unstoppable in Friday’s contest. The Chinese center — listed by FIBA at 7-foot-4 — finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while shooting 9-for-10 from the free-throw line. Team USA coach Kara Lawson was asked if Zhang has the potential to play in the WNBA.
“She’s a wonderful player and you see how young she is,” Lawson said. “You can tell she’s still growing and learning how to play and how to leverage her advantage, which is her size. And there’s not much you can do to stop her when she gets it really close to the basket.
“She was really efficient from the free-throw line as well. And so when we put her to the line, because we had a hard time when she got too close and she makes you pay with that. So I think there’s a lot of upside with her. … If she continues to develop, there’s definitely a place for it.”
Losers
Team USA’s size disadvantage
Team USA had quite the time trying to defend 7-foot 4 Zhang Ziyu. Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston, who is an excellent defender, tried her best to slow Zhang down and did find some success in the second half. Still, there were moments where the Chinese center just tossed the ball up over Boston, who is 6-foot-5, and in it went. Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese, who is 6-foot-4 and another superb defender, also had her hands full trying to keep Zhang from scoring.
“This was a different type of basketball game than I probably ever played in in my entire life. I’ve never played against a woman of that size,” Fever guard Caitlin Clark said of Zhang. “And she obviously presented some challenges for us, but you got to give our post players a lot of credit. They really battled and Coach Kara really challenged them before the game to be physical, try to push them out of the paint.
“If she makes a couple, stay resilient, stay in it. I thought Aaliyah came in and gave us great minutes guarding her and we tried to do, I think especially in the second half, we were able to get a few more buckets in transition, especially when she was in as well trying to push the ball.”
The team also struggled against 6-foot-9 Han Xu, who finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and one block.
Li Yueru’s lost passport preventing her World Cup arrival
It doesn’t feel right to have beef with a lost passport, but seriously. What gives? On Sept. 2, two days before the World Cup began, Li Yueru said in a statement on her Instagram account her passport was lost in the mail, preventing her from traveling to Berlin, to join the Chinese national team for the World Cup.
The Chinese center previously played for China at the 2021 and 2024 Olympics and 2022 World Cup, where the China captured the silver medal.
“Unfortunately, my passport was lost in the mail and still hasn’t been found. Throughout this time, we’ve all been working hard together and exploring every possible solution, but maybe we were just a little short on luck this time,” she said. “As of today, the passport is still missing.”
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert
There was near certainty Cathy Engelbert would soon be moving on from her role as a WNBA commissioner in one way or another. She had been criticized for her handling of relationships, safety, officiating and collective bargaining agreement negotiations. And, multiple media reports indicated that her days were numbered.
That said, the timing of the announcement seemed off.
Why wait until many of the players who star in the league — one that she’ll still be governing until the conclusion of the calendar year — had just won their first game in the FIBA Women’s World Cup? It’s hard to imagine that announcing the move a week earlier or even a month later could have done much harm.
A differently timed announcement might have offered more space for the spotlight to remain on the best women’s basketball players in the United States. Additionally, players will now have to avoid the distraction of Engelbert’s departure as they attempt to focus on the competition ahead.
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