Team USA Dominates Czechia in Berlin

Team USA did not just win its final Group D game in Berlin. It reset the tone of its entire World Cup campaign.

Less than 24 hours after grinding through a 55-52 rock fight against Italy, the Americans walked into the arena on Monday and unloaded a 105-64 statement on Czechia, closing the group stage at 3-0 and stretching their World Cup winning streak to 33 games, a run that began back in 2006.

This looked a lot more like the United States the rest of the world fears.

Veterans grab the wheel

The talk coming into this World Cup has been about the next wave, the “Young and Turnt” group that represents the future of the program. Against Czechia, the future watched the present set the standard.

From the opening tip, the veterans grabbed control. Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier carved up Czechia’s defense in the first half, combining for 25 points before the break and setting a ruthless tempo that never dipped.

Stewart, named player of the game, needed only 17 minutes to post a line that underlined her status as the axis of this team: 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists. She orchestrated, finished, and defended, all at a pace Czechia simply could not handle.

“I wanted to come out and really lead this team in a number of ways,” Stewart said. She did exactly that, on a night when the U.S. needed a response as much as a result.

Her performance also carried a slice of history. Appearing in her fourth World Cup, Stewart joins Sue Bird (5) and Diana Taurasi (4) as the only American women with at least four appearances at the tournament. If the U.S. completes the job and wins gold, she will tie Bird for the most World Cup gold medals.

Behind her, the scoring spread out like a champion’s box score. Angel Reese powered her way to 13 points. Collier and Jackie Young added 12 apiece. Paige Bueckers and Sonia Citron chipped in 10 each. Six players in double figures, all business, no let-up.

Lawson’s challenge, answered loudly

The transformation from Sunday to Monday did not happen by accident.

After nearly letting Italy steal a game late, head coach Kara Lawson went straight at her team. She questioned their passion. Their competitive edge. Their intensity in a jersey that demands all three.

“Let this be the last time that a team plays with more passion than us throughout the course of the game,” Lawson told them. “Let this be the last time that all 12 don't show up to compete at a high level. And then let this be the last time that we lack a resilient mindset because we're so upset that we're not scoring the way we're normally scoring. Your contribution has to be your effort, your passion, your energy, your intensity that you play with.”

On Monday, the message was written all over the floor.

The Americans opened with three straight 3-pointers, ripped off a 13-4 run, and were up by 14 after the first quarter. They defended with purpose, attacked the glass, and ran in waves. Every U.S. player scored. The 41-point margin was their largest of the tournament.

“I knew our offense would come around. I’m so pleased with the way they are playing. Their effort and energy,” Lawson said at halftime. That was before the lead ballooned even further.

Collier saw the same edge.

"I thought it was a great response that we had from yesterday's game," she said. "Obviously, we didn't shoot well, but coming out with the aggression that we did, especially on defense, I thought our on ball defense was pretty good. I saw a lot of people got their hands in."

This time, the standard matched the jersey.

Threes fall, pressure rises

Against Italy, the U.S. perimeter game vanished. One made 3-pointer in 12 attempts told the story of a team stuck in mud.

Stewart changed that script less than a minute into the first quarter on Monday, drilling a 3 with 9:09 on the clock to open the scoring. It was more than just three points; it was a release valve.

The shots kept coming. Team USA hit five 3s in the first half and finished 7-for-25 from deep. The volume stayed high, but the distribution mattered more: seven different players connected from long range, a sign of a half-court offense starting to find rhythm and spacing.

"We took some strides in transition offense," Lawson said. "I thought we made some strides in our half court offensive execution, and our defensive awareness."

The pressure finally matched the talent. Once it did, Czechia had no answers.

Kiki Iriafen makes her minutes count

Kiki Iriafen’s World Cup story took a sharp turn in 24 hours.

After recording a DNP against Italy, she came off the bench against Czechia and played like someone determined to make the most of every second. Eight minutes, five points, 11 rebounds. Six of those boards came on the offensive glass. She added a steal for good measure.

Her energy changed possessions, extended plays, and underlined a point Lawson has hammered home: everyone has to be ready, every night.

On a roster packed with stars, Iriafen showed that the margins still matter.

Czechia overwhelmed, Joklova’s brutal day

For Czechia, this was the harshest of exits.

They arrived already 0-2 in Group D after losses to Italy and China. They left the tournament 0-3, outclassed on the glass and in the paint by a U.S. team intent on proving a point.

The numbers were unforgiving. The Americans dominated the boards 55-35 and outscored Czechia 52-30 in the paint. Czechia turned the ball over 16 times, feeding a U.S. transition game that never stopped coming.

"We played against the best of the best, the United States," Czechia head coach Romana Ptáčková said. "It was really tough. We knew that, we knew that it's going to be hard in a low post and they showed us that."

No one felt the weight of the day more than guard Eliska Joklova. Hours before tip, the Minnesota Lynx announced they were waiving her to make room for newly signed guard Aari McDonald. Then she had to face the United States.

Joklova responded with pride, pouring in a team-high 19 points, the only Czech player to reach double figures. It was a strong individual performance on a day when the scoreboard showed no mercy.

One flaw, one warning

For all the dominance, one statistic will bother Lawson when she rewatches the film.

Turnovers.

The U.S. played a near-perfect first half in that department: zero in the first quarter, just two by halftime. The second half unraveled that control. Eleven turnovers after the break handed Czechia 11 points and gave future opponents a blueprint to chase.

"We're improving every day. ... Every day that we're together, we're getting understanding of how to play off of one another, even how to communicate off of one another," Lawson said.

That understanding has to sharpen as the stakes rise. Sloppy stretches like Monday’s second half will not go unpunished in the medal rounds.

Quarterfinals ahead

With Group D swept and a 33-game World Cup win streak intact, Team USA moves on to the quarterfinals, where Japan or Hungary will await on Thursday, Sept. 10.

The Italians exposed their floor. Czechia absorbed their backlash.

Now comes the real question of this tournament: did Monday mark a one-night response, or the moment the defending champions truly locked into gold-medal mode?