A two-point halftime deficit did not exactly scream dominance for Team USA. But it could have been five, had Caitlin Clark not drained a momentum-shifting three-pointer with just three seconds left in the second quarter. A shot like that was significant enough on its own for closing the gap as they headed to the break, but according to head coach Kara Lawson, it did considerably more than that.

Speaking at the post-game press conference, coach Lawson pointed directly to that Clark three as a turning point, describing it as a pivotal moment that gave fresh confidence to the entire team heading into halftime. 

“Big momentum-changing three from C, right before halftime. And we just felt it at halftime. We really did. We felt like we could push the gas pedal down to the floor and get away from them.”

Heading into the World Cup final, the atmosphere was already charged with the kind of high-intensity defensive pressure France had shown consistently throughout the tournament. And with Team USA having already been pushed to the brink by Italy in the group stage and made uncomfortable again by Spain in the semifinal, there was legitimate reason to wonder whether the Americans would find it difficult to handle the French machine.

And for the first half of the gold-medal game, those concerns did not feel misplaced. France came out with energy and precision, making Team USA work for every possession and winning the opening quarter 20-17. That momentum carried into the second quarter, and with 39 seconds remaining on the clock, France appeared to be heading into halftime with a commanding six-point cushion at 45-39. 

Then Aaliyah Boston converted a free throw to trim the deficit to five. And then Caitlin Clark drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer, sending the bench into an explosion of celebration and shifting something invisible but unmistakable in the air.

The reaction on the Team USA sideline confirmed exactly what Lawson described. The excitement was immediate, visceral, and genuine. And like she said, coming out of the locker room, Team USA never looked back. After two quarters of close combat, they swept France in the third period, winning it 30-12 and entering the final quarter with a 16-point lead that France could never meaningfully threaten.

Given what that third quarter delivered, it is tempting to call it the stretch that won Team USA the championship. But coach Lawson sees the second quarter as equally, perhaps more, telling. 

“That second quarter is probably my favorite quarter of the game. And I’ll go back and watch it and see maybe the third one might be good too. But the second one, I think, because we had such a resilient mindset.”

“It’s difficult when you’re scuffling a little bit trying to find the rhythm of the game, and they were so hot from three. Eight for 14 in the first half, and we just didn’t allow it to change our aggressiveness. We didn’t allow it to change our confidence.”

Dominating the third quarter and running away with the championship in the second half was the spectacular part. But staying within striking distance while France was shooting the lights out from beyond the arc in the first half was the resilient part, and Clark’s buzzer-beater was the punctuation mark.

That shot was, however, not the only meaningful contribution Clark made in the championship game. She finished with 12 points, one rebound, and three assists, shooting 4-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. After two difficult nights against Italy and Spain, where Clark didn’t score a single field goal, she saved her best for the gold-medal game. And her most important three came with three seconds left in the first half, right when Team USA needed it most.