Team USA needed only one quarter to turn a World Cup quarterfinal into a statement. The Americans beat Hungary 108-56 on Thursday in Berlin, posted the most points ever in a Women’s World Cup quarterfinal, and piled up a tournament-record 31 assists as they moved two wins from a fifth straight gold medal.
Napheesa Collier needed just 15 minutes to drop 19 points. Five teammates reached double figures. All 12 players scored. After a 55-53 scare against Italy in group play, this was a different team.
and both started on the bench. Once they checked in together, the former college rivals looked like a pair that had been running pick-and-roll for years.
Clark finished with 10 points and a team-high nine assists in 20 minutes, one dime short of a second tournament double-double. Reese added nine points and six rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting. The two closed the first quarter with a clean pick-and-roll finish that pushed the lead to 36-12. Clark kept finding Reese at the rim. Reese repaid the favor with a steal and a transition feed in the third.
Paige Bueckers, first off the bench, had seven points and three assists. Rhyne Howard poured in 15 points and four steals. Kahleah Copper and Jackie Young each scored 10. Coach emptied the bench and never lost control.
Team USA hit 20 of their first 26 shots and led 59-30 at halftime, the highest first-half total in a World Cup knockout game. They finished 40-of-68 from the field (59 percent) and 12-of-23 from three. They scored 52 points in the paint and turned Hungary’s 27 turnovers into easy layups.
Minnesota Lynx forward Dorka Juhasz entered averaging 15.3 points. She missed her first seven shots, did not score until late in the first half, and finished with two points on 1-of-12 shooting. Hungary, in their first World Cup quarterfinal, managed only 22 made field goals. Sonia Citron left briefly after an accidental blow to the nose in the third quarter and returned to start the fourth.
The US winning streak at the World Cup is now 34 games, dating to a 2006 semifinal loss to Russia. The Americans have reached every medal round since the format changed in 1983.
Saturday’s semifinal opponent will be the winner of Australia-Spain. The US are No. 1 in the rankings. Australia are third and Spain sixth. France-China and Belgium-host Germany filled out the other quarterfinals.
