In the closing seconds of their group stage matchup against Italy, Team USA stood still to see Cecilia Zandalasini as she shot a 3-pointer in hopes to force an overtime. The ball floated towards the rim, but drifted wide. Breanna Stewart caught the rebound, ending the night to keep Team USA’s 32-game winning streak alive in the tournament. But while they survived, Sunday raised many concerns.

Now, everyone testing a fresh-looking Team USA was unsurprising. But after a commanding 94-61 victory over China in their first matchup, little did anyone know their test would come so soon. They now understand they have more work to do if they want to win it all. In the meantime, everyone is pointing fingers at what went wrong. And there’s enough!

Caitlin Clark’s career-low shooting

One night after putting together a memorable World Cup debut against China, Caitlin Clark simply could not find the bottom of the net against Italy. Usually the offensive maestro, she finished with just one point, going 0-for-6 from the field and 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. In fact, this was the first time in the Indiana star’s career that she was held to 0 field goals in a basketball game.

Her only point came at the free-throw line, as Italy’s defense made life extremely difficult for her whenever she attempted to get her rhythm going. But, as she always does, contributed in other ways, finishing with 4 rebounds, 3 of which were defensive rebounds, 1 assist, and a steal across her 18 minutes of play. But by her own extraordinarily high standards, this will be a night she will want to put behind her quickly, especially after what she did in the team’s first game.

Against China, Clark started from the bench but did not take time to get red-hot.

She dished out 11 assists to set a record for Team USA’s Women’s World Cup debut. Alyssa Thomas held the record previously with 9 against Belgium in 2022. In fact, she was the first player in the Women’s World Cup to record ten-plus assists without turnovers. Just as she stepped onto the court, she brought the same ability to change the tempo of the game as she does with the Indiana Fever in the WNBA. But Italy turned out to be a test. With their final group stage game against the Czech Republic on Monday, she will be hoping for a sharp and decisive return to form, just like Angel Reese did.

Angel Reese’s defensive start set the tone

Team USA’s offense was searching for answers for most of the 40 minutes against Italy. But Angel Reese did not mind responding to fire with fire on the defensive end of the ball.

Reese came up with two blocks in the opening quarter alone, including one that snuffed out an Italian scoring opportunity near the basket, and added a steal before eventually getting on the scoreboard herself with a driving layup in that same first quarter. Her contributions, however, did not stop there.

Reese finished the game with eight points, three rebounds, two blocks, and a steal, a well-rounded and impactful line for a game that desperately needed contributors beyond the primary stars. Her performance even earned the coach’s praise.

“What I will say about Angel is that when she gets in the game, she impacts. You can see it. I think everyone in the arena can see it. She comes into the game, and she plays with great energy, and she commits, she scores, she rebounds, she plays with great pace. It’s what you want in a young player, to come in and do that,” Kara Lawson told the media.

But while Reese was using her defensive strengths on the floor, Italy’s Zandalasini kept breaking those spells. At one point, though, flares got too hot to handle.

Cecilia Zandalasini continued her red-hot form for Italy, even against the officials

Cecilia Zandalasini once again showed why she was one of Italy’s biggest threats coming into the tournament. After leading Italy with 19 points in the opening-game victory over Czechia, she followed that up with another team-high performance against Team USA.

Zandalasini finished with a game-high 14 points alongside seven rebounds, consistently giving Italy another reliable option whenever the Americans threatened to pull away. She was not particularly efficient from the field, but her willingness to keep attacking and contribute on the glass helped Italy stay within striking distance throughout the contest. But when things didn’t go her way despite pulling all the stops, her anger found another sink.

In the dying seconds of the nail-biter, Zandalasini attempted a shot from beyond the arc. Jackie Young, who was defending the player, poked her in the eye, something that even the live commentary mentioned. However, the refs deemed it a no-call. Considering that the game was still very much in the hands, Zandalasini and a few Italian players rushed towards the referee, only to be separated by their teammates and the coaching staff.

Zandalasini was visibly upset, screaming at the referee about the lack of a call, as teammate Francesca Pan joined her, gesturing towards her eye. If the foul was called, the WNBA champ would’ve possibly received three free throw attempts, considering she was beyond the arc at the time. But at the end of the day, all she could do was apologize for her actions.

“I would like to apologize for how I reacted in the end. It wasn’t sporting at all. Yeah, just want to apologize to the team and to the referee. Just when I wear this jersey is, just I different me I guess, now I even feel embarrassed, so I just wanted to say it out loud and to whoever is watching this, thank you,” said Zandalasini in the post-game press conference.

However, one of the biggest talking points of the game was how much Team USA underperformed.

Italy held Team USA to its lowest scoring total in 42 years

For as long as you can remember, Team USA always tries to have a big differential in international games. So, going from 94 points against China in the opener to 55 in the very next game is not something anyone could have predicted. And yet, here we are…

The 55-point total was not just a jarring drop from the previous game; it was Team USA’s lowest points total in 42 years, and their lowest-scoring World Cup game since 1971, meaning it had been 55 years since they scored this few points in a World Cup game. What’s worse is that it happened against a team making its first World Cup appearance since 1994. But even Stewart gave the credit where it was due.

“Italy really kinda mucked up the game for us and made it difficult for us to score,” Stewart said. “Tough team. Tons of respect to what they’ve done. Just proud of the resiliency of this group.

“We haven’t had a lot of time together and when things really mattered down the stretch, we were able to get big stops. A win is a win and we hope to continue to build on this.” 

They just couldn’t find their offensive rhythm against the Italians, shooting a difficult 29% from the field and just eight percent from three-point range. For a team that had looked so comfortable just 48 hours ago, this was a completely different offensive challenge.

The Czech Republic game on Monday now carries added significance, not just for the standings, but for rebuilding the offensive confidence that this group will need heading into the knockout rounds.

Jackie Young’s steady hand was Team USA’s saving grace

With Team USA struggling to find the basket, Jackie Young seemed to be the only reliable offensive outlet the Americans could lean on. She ended the game with a team-high ten points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. In fact, she was the only USA player to make more than two field goals, finishing 4-of-6 from the floor.

USA players combined to shoot just 16-of-56 (28.6%) from the field and 1-of-12 (8.3%) three-pointers. And while Team USA did manage to get to the free-throw line, even that became a potential problem, as the Americans converted 22 of 30 attempts (73.3%). In a game decided by just three points, those missed free throws could easily have come back to haunt Team USA.

Italy turned the game into a defensive grind

The biggest difference from Team USA’s opening game was simply how Italy made everything difficult. The Americans never really found the same offensive flow that carried them past China. Italy forced them into a physical, low-scoring contest, and the numbers tell the story.

They made only 16 of their 56 field-goal attempts and converted just one of 12 attempts from three-point range. Even with Team USA building a lead, Italy kept making the game uncomfortable.

That pressure eventually turned what many would have expected to be another routine American victory into a contest that was still very much alive till the closing seconds.

Team USA survives to extend their historic World Cup streak

It was far from the convincing performance Team USA would have wanted, but the Americans still managed to squeak out a 55-52 win over Italy and, more importantly, keep their historic World Cup winning streak alive. The victory now extends their FIBA World Cup winning streak to 32 games.

Team USA have not lost a group-stage game since 1975, while their last overall World Cup defeat came in September 2006, when Russia beat them in the semifinals of the FIBA World Championship in Brazil. Since then, they have gone completely undefeated through their championship runs in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022, building one of the most remarkable winning streaks in World Cup history. After being thoroughly tested by Italy in Berlin, that streak remains intact. But with this win, the team has secured direct entry into the event’s knockout stage, where they will be grouped against another contender in France, who, if they do, will meet in the final on September 13.

They will now hope to extend it further on Monday against Czechia, and will have to maintain that winning momentum for the rest of the tournament if they are eventually going to retain their World Cup crown.