Team USA wins fifth consecutive FIBA World Cup, rallying from 14-point deficit with second-half surge to defeat France for gold medal

The U.S. women's basketball team won its fifth consecutive FIBA Women's World Cup — and 12th gold medal overall — coming back from a 14-point deficit for a 97-79 victory over France.Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 22 points and also grabbed nine rebounds for Team USA. Jackie Young followed with 18 points, nailing 4-of-7 3-pointers, adding five rebounds and five assists. Chelsea Gray contributed 14 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, playing a big part in the Americans' rally. 14-POINT COMEBACK COMPLETE.THE USA BASKETBALL WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM WINS THEIR 5TH STRAIGHT @FIBAWWC 🏆 pic.twitter.com/y6GWhu2eZu— NBA (@NBA) September 13, 2026 Stewart was named MVP of the tournament, the second time she earned those honors during her career. Those go with the four World Cup gold medals she's won. Additionally, Stewart scored Team USA's first two points on free throws. With that, she passed Cheryl Miller for fifth place on the U.S. all-time scoring list in World Cup play with 268 points. Ahead of her now are Lisa Leslie (393), Teresa Edwards (371), Diana Taurasi (363) and Katrina McClain (310).The U.S. has won 11 World Cup gold medals overall and five straight since losing to Australia in 2006. Team USA has won 36 consecutive games in World Cup play.CAPTAIN STEW-S-A 🫡 pic.twitter.com/FT1bDI97zl— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) September 13, 2026 Dominique Malonga led France with 21 points. She was Les Bleues' only source of offense through much of the second half. Gabby Williams scored 20 points, but only four of those came in the second half. She went scoreless in the third quarter as her team managed only 12 points amid the U.S. surge. France appeared on its way to a blowout victoryFrance went on a 21-2 run from the first quarter into the second to open up a 31-17 lead and looked in position to run the Americans off the court.The U.S. went ahead 15-10 midway through the first before France tied the score on a 3-pointer by Williams and breakaway layup from Malonga. Then France began its surge, ending the first quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 3-point lead.Gabby Williams sinks the three, and Marine Johannes celebrates on the bench #FIBAWWC pic.twitter.com/i86DmxfRXE— Danielle H. (@DanielleHobeika) September 13, 2026 Les Bleues scored the first 11 points of the second quarter to stretch their lead to 14 points and the U.S. appeared to be in trouble. But the Americans responded with a 10-2 run of their own, fueled by two 3-pointers from Young, and cut France's lead to 33-27. Young and Gray prevented France from pulling away with another run, trimming the margin to 42-39 with under two minutes in the first half.Chelsea Gray finds Jackie Young with the no-look dime for the triple at the buzzer! 🤯 #FIBAWWC pic.twitter.com/olVl9JAdjs— TSN (@TSN_Sports) September 13, 2026 Caitlin Clark provided an additional boost by nailing a 3-pointer from the left elbow before the halftime buzzer to pull the U.S. to within two points. She finished with 12 points, hitting 4-of-5 shots (and 2 of 3 from behind the arc). CAITLIN CLARK KNOCKS DOWN THE TRIPLE TO END THE HALF 💪 #FIBAWWC pic.twitter.com/CeWNC89b2a— TSN (@TSN_Sports) September 13, 2026 For Les Bleues, Sunday's final was the second time in two years they have lost a gold medal to the U.S. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA defeated France 67-66 for the championship. Williams hit what could have been the game-tying shot at the buzzer, but her foot was on the 3-point line and the shot was good for only two points. She finished with 19 points.A'ja Wilson led the U.S. with 21 points and 13 rebounds in that Olympic game. Kelsey Plum and Kahleah Copper each tallied 12 points. Neither Wilson nor Plum were on the U.S. World Cup roster due to injury.Follow the action as it played out with highlights, updates and more in Yahoo Sports' live blog of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Gold Medal Game: