The United States defeated Nigeria 71-40 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. With the win, the United States is now headed to the Finals where they will have a chance to medal for the 11th consecutive World Cup, dating back to 1979 when the tournament was in Seoul, Korea.
Elena Delle Donne scored seven points off the bench in 18 minutes of playing time. Breanna Stewart led all American scorers with 19 points while Tina Charles scored 8 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
There was little doubt that the USA was going to win this game. However, the Americans committed 23 turnovers and were actually losing to Nigeria 17-9 after the first quarter.
From that point America caught up and were leading by double digits throughout most of the contest in the second half, though the scoring was very low throughout. The margin didn’t really start to explode until the fourth quarter when Team USA went on a 25-5 run.
Team USA will play France or Belgium in the semifinals on Saturday. France is one of the world’s established world powers, but Mystics forward Emma Meesseman is the cornerstone for the Belgian national team that is making history left and right.
I’ll be honest. I’m kind of scared of Belgium if I were America. Anyway, se’ll find out for sure who Team USA plays later this afternoon!