USA pull clear of Spain to reach fifth straight Women’s World Cup final

The United States secured a fifth successive appearance in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup final by beating Spain 76-66 in Berlin on Saturday. According to the Guardian's match report, the four-time defending champions needed a decisive fourth quarter to settle a semi-final that remained level after 30 minutes. France will be their opponents in Sunday's final.

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Breanna Stewart finished with 16 points to lead the American scoring, with Kahleah Copper contributing 13 and Jackie Young adding 12. The result extended the United States' winning run in the competition to 35 games. Their last World Cup defeat remains the semi-final against Russia in 2006, but Spain kept that unbeaten sequence under pressure for much of this contest.

Spain established a 13-4 advantage midway through the opening quarter and were still within three points at half-time, when the United States led 39-36. Three-pointers from María Conde and Iyana Martín early in the third quarter helped Spain wipe out that deficit. Martín then converted two free throws with 53 seconds remaining in the period, leaving the teams tied at 58 heading into the fourth.

The Americans took control after the break between quarters. Copper and Young supplied the opening scores of the final period before Stewart helped widen the gap. With a little more than six minutes remaining, the United States were eight points ahead. Young later turned a steal into a layup to make the score 76-64 with 1:42 left, putting the Americans 12 points clear in the closing stages.

Conde and Martín each scored 17 points for Spain, whose defensive effort restricted the United States to 40% shooting. The Americans converted just three of their 18 attempts from three-point range. Caitlin Clark scored one point and missed all three of her three-point attempts, as the defending champions progressed despite those difficulties from long range.

France reached the final by defeating host nation Germany 86-64 in the other semi-final. The championship game will reunite the teams that contested Olympic gold in Paris in 2024, when the United States won 67-66. On that occasion, Gabby Williams had a foot on the three-point line when she released a buzzer-beating shot that could otherwise have tied the game.