“Had To Turn the Page”: Breanna Stewart Addresses Team USA’s Struggle Against Italy After Win Over Czechia

USA got their win against Italy, but it was far from their championship standard. And thanks to a tight back-to-back schedule, they had no time to dwell on it. But the Americans responded by blowing out Czechia 105–64. So, as they ended the group stage on a high, Breanna Stewart made sure to reveal that the Americans used their mistakes against Italy as a quick wake-up call.

“I’ve been in a lot of games with USA Basketball, and we have a ton of respect for our opponents. And Italy played us really tight. Obviously, we couldn’t hit any shots last night, but we had to turn the page. We watched the film this morning, and we got ready for what was to come tonight,” she said per a WNBA X post, which clipped her postgame media availability.

“I think that we just really kind of took accountability of what happened yesterday and wanted to make sure that everybody knew that today’s a new day. There’s an opportunity to really impact the game in a number of ways, and this is our last kind of learning opportunity and test before we go forward, and we wanted to take full advantage of it,” she added.

The Americans opened their tournament with a dominant win over China, but in their very next game they looked completely out of rhythm. Team USA scored just 55 points – the lowest-scoring World Cup game for Team USA since 1971. Breanna Stewart herself dropped just five points, even though she recorded a team-high 11 rebounds.

Even one of the WNBA’s most prolific scorers, Caitlin Clark, was able to record only one point, as she went 0-of-6 for field goals. Clark, who is the third-highest scorer this WNBA season, averages 22.5 ppg, but couldn’t bring the same offense against Italy. It was not the best night for Team USA’s offense, as Jackie Young scored a team-high of only 10 points. The team recorded a disappointing 28.6% shooting from the field.

Naturally, Team USA was heavily scrutinized after that matchup. But they made sure to learn from their bump in the road. With their back-to-back games all set up, Team USA played against Czechia next and secured a dominant win, which showed what the defending champions are capable of.

Breanna Stewart led the Americans with 19 points in the blowout win. She shot an impressive 8-of-11 from the field and 7-of-10 on her two-point attempts. The New York Liberty star also recorded seven rebounds and six assists. But the best part about this game was how they performed as a team.

All 12 players managed to get on the scoreboard, while head coach Kara Lawson made sure everyone got to play at least 10 minutes on the floor.

So this game wasn’t just about the starters building a comfortable lead before the bench came in to finish things off. Everyone had a chance to make an impact, and the contributions came from all over the roster.

Paige Bueckers and Sonia Citron scored 10 points each. Jackie Young added 12. Angel Reese finished with 13. Caitlin Clark had nine points, and Kiki Iriafen chipped in seven.

This is the kind of depth that could be important once the knockout stage begins. Team USA showed that it can get production from across the roster, and if they can keep it up, it will make it harder for any opponent to focus on shutting down just one or two players.

So with the group stage now behind them, the focus shifts to what comes next.

What’s next for Breanna Stewart and the Americans?

Team USA will return to action in the quarterfinals on Thursday, September 10. The Americans will face either Hungary or Japan, depending on the result of their crossover matchup.

If they play Japan, it would add another layer to the knockout stage, giving the two teams a rematch of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic finals.

Trainerin Cara Lawson, Breanna Stewart feuert an / Aktion / Oberkörper / / Basketball / FIBA World Cup Weltmeisterschaft Frauen WM / Saison 2026/2027 / 07.09.2026 / USA vs Tschechien Tschechische Republik CZE / *** Coach Cara Lawson and Breanna Stewart cheer on the action Upper Body Sports Basketball FIBA World Cup World Championship Women s World Cup 2026-2027 Season July 9, 2026 USA vs. Czech Republic CZE

Breanna Stewart will once again have a leading role to play after setting the tone against Czechia, but the veteran believes there is still work to be done.

“There’s still a lot that we can improve. Obviously, defensively, we want to kind of be able to put some other things in our back pocket — different ball screen defenses — and getting comfortable with one another. So, it’ll be nice to have like a real practice before our next game, and obviously we’ll be tuned in to see who our opponent is,” she added.

With the group stage behind them, the real test now begins. So, the goal is simple: keep building, keep improving, and make sure their best basketball comes when the stakes are highest.

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