The names on the U.S. team have changed, the Americans’ dominance has not. A’ja Wilson scored 19 points, Kelsey Plum added 17 and the United States beat China 83-61 on Saturday to win its fourth consecutive gold medal at the women’s basketball World Cup.
“It feels great,” said Wilson, who was selected as the tournament’s MVP. “We came here on a mission, we got it. We got gold. Now we’re going home with some hardware. It feels great to us. Australia was great to us. I didn’t see any kangaroos, but it’s OK because we are leaving with a gold.”
This was one of the most dominant teams in the Americans’ storied history in the World Cup that now has won 11 gold medals. They’ve won four straight gold medals for the first time. This also was the biggest win in a gold-medal game, surpassing the 20-point wins that the Americans had done twice.
“Everybody wants to beat us. Everybody wants what we have and that’s gold medals and victories,” Breanna Stewart said.
What started with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi has now been passed down to Wilson and Stewart. With Alyssa Thomas the oldest player at 30, the domination could continue for years to come.—AP
