The United States women's basketball team narrowly escaped an upset on Sunday, defeating Italy 55–52 to secure a quarterfinal berth in the FIBA Women's World Cup. Despite a difficult shooting day, the Americans relied on clutch fourth-quarter plays from Jackie Young and Breanna Stewart to pull ahead in what was their closest World Cup contest in 20 years.
The Americans entered the fourth quarter leading 42–39 but fell behind three times during the final period. Stewart, who struggled with a 1-for-9 shooting performance, scored her only basket of the game on a jumper assisted by Young to give the US a 51–50 lead with 3:20 remaining. Young followed with a floater on the next possession, finishing with six of her team-high 10 points in the final quarter. Chelsea Gray later added a pull-up shot with 1:07 remaining to create a vital cushion.
Offensive struggles persisted throughout the game for the US team, which shot just 28.6% (16 of 56) overall and made only one of 12 three-point attempts. Caitlin Clark was held to one point after shooting 0-for-6 from the floor. However, the Americans compensated for their cold shooting by outscoring Italy 22–14 at the free-throw line and securing critical defensive rebounds.
Italy was led by Cecilia Zandalasini of the WNBA's Golden State Valkyries, who contributed 14 points and seven rebounds. Zandalasini missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with three seconds left and shouted at referees after the buzzer, contending she was poked in the eye on the shot, though she expressed contrition and apologized after the game. With the hard-fought victory, the US improved to 2–0 in Group D and avoided their first World Cup defeat since the 2006 semifinals.