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# Au Revoir, Doubt: Team USA Hits Snooze on the French Revolution to Grab Fifth Straight Gold
- URL: https://www.sanchezsideline.com/au-revoir-doubt-team-usa-hits-snooze-on-the-french-revolution-to-grab-fifth-straight-gold/
- Published: 2026-09-17T01:19:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-17T01:19:23.000Z
- Description: France built a 14-point lead and briefly had the basketball world believing. Then Team USA remembered who runs international women’s basketball.
- Author: Sanchez Sideline
- Tags: WNBA, Women's Basketball, FIBA World Cup, Team USA, Basketball

Every few years, the basketball universe collectively hallucinates, convinces itself that the Americans are finally vulnerable, and gets treated to a 40-minute masterclass in premature panic.

Heading into Sunday’s FIBA Women’s World Cup gold-medal clash in Berlin, the sirens were practically deafening. France arrived on an absolute tear, ripping through the tournament like a squad personally offended by the concept of American basketball dominance.

Factor in a generational shift featuring World Cup rookies Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese, toss in the late pre-tournament withdrawals of cheat-code scorer A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum, and the media was ready to pen the dynasty’s obituary before lunchtime.

For the first 20 minutes, it actually looked like the funeral was on schedule.

Les Bleues sprinted onto the hardwood looking like they wanted to annex the paint, smothering the U.S. passing lanes and raining threes like Berlin had turned into an arcade. France unleashed a 21–2 surge and buried Team USA in a 14-point crater—the Americans’ largest deficit of the tournament.

Cue the collective sweat across the Atlantic.

But the panic was short-lived.

Trailing 45–43 at halftime, Team USA made its adjustments, tightened the defense, and apparently remembered that international gold medals do not leave the building without American permission.

Then Breanna Stewart casually reminded everyone why her personal trophy case requires its own zip code.

Team USA walked out of the locker room, cracked its knuckles, and uncorked pure mayhem.

Stewart dropped a game-high 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and secured her fourth World Cup gold medal. She also became the first player in tournament history to win World Cup MVP twice—because apparently winning the championship was not enough work for one afternoon.

Jackie Young added a surgical 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Kahleah Copper supplied timely buckets, while Caitlin Clark chipped in 12 points off the bench after drilling the three that pulled the Americans within two at halftime.

Defensively, Team USA turned the second half into a restricted area. France managed only 12 points in the third quarter as the Americans poured in 30 and transformed a potential international crisis into regularly scheduled programming.

Before Les Bleues could check the scoreboard, a nail-biter had mutated into a 97–79 blowout.

There was plenty of noise early.

Then the gym got real quiet.

France heads home with silver—its best World Cup finish ever, improving on the bronze medal it captured in 1953\. Spain secured bronze with an 81–58 victory over Germany.

But the mountaintop remains stubbornly occupied by the stars and stripes.

The rest of the world is unquestionably closing the gap. France proved that by building a 14-point lead and making Team USA uncomfortable in a championship game.

Unfortunately for everybody else, getting close only seems to remind the Americans where the gas pedal is.

Five straight World Cup titles. Twelve overall.

The revolution has officially been postponed.

![USA outscored France 30-12 in the decisive third quarter of the Women's World Cup final](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dd/cc/ddcc24fb-86d0-4ee3-b21e-75f1e2d638ec/content/images/2026/09/exec-c38779ab-b14e-4399-99aa-666ecefeb941.png)