Team USA women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson dismissed outside opinions after the Americans routed Hungary 108-56 in the FIBA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal Thursday.
During the postgame press conference, Lawson was asked if a recent power ranking provided her team with any added motivation entering the final stage of the tournament.
Lawson admitted she did not know about the ranking, but addressed those who may have more confidence in France, which appeared to be the more dominant team during group play.
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“This is a big tournament, this is the World Cup, and it’s okay for people to have opinions on who they think is going to win and who they think is going to lose and who they’re cheering for and who they’re going to boo. That’s a competition, I think that’s why we love sport, it’s why it’s so exciting,” Lawson said.
“And now in this moment in women’s basketball you have more people than ever before that are giving their opinions and they’re making rankings and they’re doing that. That’s all great, we clearly don’t talk about any of that inside our bubble, and we really just focus on what we need to do.
“Worrying about someone else’s opinion doesn’t serve you, because it doesn’t change whether you can do it or not. It’s just someone’s opinion.”
FIBA moved France ahead of the United States in its final “Smart Power Rankings” following the group stage. The Americans fell to second after narrowly escaping Italy with a 55-52 victory, their lowest-scoring World Cup performance since the introduction of the 3-point line in 1984.
The ranking also described the Americans’ on-court connections as a “work in progress.” However, FIBA included a disclaimer stating that its rankings were “entirely subjective” and did not constitute an accurate ranking system.
“As far as France, what a wonderful team, and they’ve had an outstanding World Cup so far, so they should have a lot of people thinking they can do well,” Lawson said.
France strengthened its case Thursday with a 90-61 quarterfinal victory over China. The French remain on the opposite side of the bracket, meaning they could only face the United States in the championship game.
One of the biggest factors affecting the outlook for Lawson’s team entering the knockout stage was concern over the starting lineup. Lawson did not directly address that debate following Thursday’s victory.
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Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese once again came off the bench against Hungary. Lawson instead started Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Kahleah Copper, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.
Lawson’s commitment to keeping her veteran starting lineup has drawn frustration from fans, especially on Wednesday after Lawson suggested to OutKick that she will be keeping the veteran lineup going into the final stage.
Still, the lineup worked against Hungary with obvious results.
The U.S. scored 36 points in the opening quarter and carried a 59-30 advantage into halftime. The Americans shot 59% from the field, made 12 of their 23 3-point attempts and recorded 31 assists on 40 baskets. Their 108 points were the most ever scored in a Women’s World Cup quarterfinal, while they became the first team to record at least 30 assists at that stage of the tournament, according to FIBA.
Collier led the Americans with 19 points and six rebounds. Every player on the U.S. roster scored, and five finished in double figures.
Clark narrowly missed her second double-double of the tournament, recording 10 points and a game-high nine assists in 20 minutes. Reese contributed nine points, six rebounds and three assists, while Bueckers added seven points and three assists.
The victory also extended the Americans’ World Cup winning streak to 34 games. The program has not lost in the tournament since falling to Russia in the 2006 semifinals.
The U.S. will face the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between Australia and Spain in Saturday’s semifinal. Lawson’s team is now two victories away from securing a fifth consecutive World Cup championship.
