Team USA has been a dominant force at the FIBA World Cup in Berlin. They entered the quarterfinals without losing in the group stage. Yet for WNBA fans in the States and even in Berlin, the timing of Team USA’s first knockout game against Hungary was unusual. According to ex-Indiana Fever reporter Scott Agness, it felt like college all over again for Team USA stars.
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“They eased into things in the first quarter. And I don’t blame them. This is a game that, here locally, tipped off after 5:30 Eastern Time in the morning. But they’re over in Berlin. It was before noon,” Agness said on his YouTube channel.
“So this was very much reminiscent, probably, of back when they were playing AAU and certainly maybe some college, perhaps some early-noon basketball. But it did not take them long to get warmed up and get ready to go there.”
All of the group stage games for the Americans tipped off around the same time they played their WNBA games, which was around 7-8 p.m. However, the quarterfinal tip-off timing was a stunner for fans back home and the players themselves. The game tipped off at 3:30 p.m. in Berlin. This meant fans who wanted to watch the live broadcast would have to watch early in the morning.
College basketball tip-off time is usually in the afternoon, and still some games are pushed to evenings. It is the championship game that remains an exception and is usually around 8 p.m. Former college basketball player Rachel DeMita also spoke about her struggle with the timing on her Courtside Club podcast.
“To be honest, I was like, I’m not waking up for that.”
And as Agness said, they eased into the game, but since halfway through the first quarter, Hungary was already experiencing America’s domination on both ends. After a 16-9 score, Team USA took over the game and ended up playing the most complete basketball of their 2026 World Cup outing.
“This was one of our most complete performances of the tournament,” head coach Kara Lawson said in the post-game press conference.
“Defensively, we were active and forced a lot of turnovers. I was really pleased by that. And then offensively, we as coaches love when they share the ball, and they did that at just a high level.”
They played selfless basketball, and their chemistry looked scary. It seemed that the Americans had figured out each other’s comfort on the afternoon of Sep. 10. They recorded 31 assists, over twice the total assists (13) from Hungary. Three players recorded 3 assists. Chelsea Gray and Caitlin Clark combined for 15 assists by themselves. Every player excelled in her role, and Rhyne Howard expressed her confidence when speaking to reporters after the game.
“We talked about just getting better with each game, and I think we did that today, especially with how we shared [the ball]. I think if we continue to play like that and continue to keep everybody on the same page, continue to move the ball, it’s going to be really hard to stop us.”
Five US players scored in double digits, and for the second time at the World Cup, every player on Team USA scored a point. Napheesa Collier led the team with 19 points on 9-of-13 shots from the field. Howard added 15 points. Jackie Young, Kahleah Copper and Caitlin Clark each scored 10 points.
Team USA will face Spain in the semifinal on Sep. 12. The stage is slowly being set for the Olympics gold medal rematch between France and the USA. If so, it will be the hardest task that the Americans will face in this entire tournament.