# 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup final

The 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Final was a basketball game which took place on 30 September 2018 at Tenerife Sports Pavilion Santiago Martin in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain, to determine the winner of the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.
This was the first time the United States and Australia played against each other in a World Cup Final. Their last game against each other at World Cup level came in 2014, with the United States taking an 82–70 victory.
Team USA won again, this time 73–56, to win their third straight and tenth overall title.

## Road to the final

| Australia | Australia | Round | United States | United States |
| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result |
| Nigeria | 86–68 | Match 1 | Senegal | 87–67 |
| Argentina | 84–43 | Match 2 | China | 100–88 |
| Turkey | 90–64 | Match 3 | Latvia | 102–76 |
| Pos Teamvte Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification 1  Australia 3 3 0 260 175 +85 6 Quarterfinals 2  Nigeria 3 2 1 217 224 −7 5 Qualification round 3  Turkey 3 1 2 195 201 −6 4 4  Argentina 3 0 3 150 222 −72 3 Source: FIBA Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored. | Pos Teamvte Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification 1  Australia 3 3 0 260 175 +85 6 Quarterfinals 2  Nigeria 3 2 1 217 224 −7 5 Qualification round 3  Turkey 3 1 2 195 201 −6 4 4  Argentina 3 0 3 150 222 −72 3 Source: FIBA Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored. | Final standing | Pos Teamvte Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification 1  United States 3 3 0 289 231 +58 6 Quarterfinals 2  China 3 2 1 227 227 0 5 Qualification round 3  Senegal 3 1 2 203 231 −28 4 4  Latvia 3 0 3 206 236 −30 3 Source: FIBA Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored. | Pos Teamvte Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification 1  United States 3 3 0 289 231 +58 6 Quarterfinals 2  China 3 2 1 227 227 0 5 Qualification round 3  Senegal 3 1 2 203 231 −28 4 4  Latvia 3 0 3 206 236 −30 3 Source: FIBA Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored. |
| Opponent | Result | Knockout stage | Opponent | Result |
| China | 83–42 | Quarter-finals | Nigeria | 71–40 |
| Spain | 72–66 | Semifinals | Belgium | 93–77 |

### Australia

Australia qualified by finishing second in the 2017 FIBA Asia Women's Cup. They were drawn into Group B with Argentina, Nigeria and Turkey.

### United States

The Americans qualified by virtue of being the defending Olympic champions, after defeating Spain in the 2016 gold medal game. They were drawn into Group D with China, Latvia and Senegal.

## Match details

This was the eleventh meeting between Australia and the United States in the World Cup, with the USA leading the head-to-head 10–0. It was the first meeting between the two in a World Cup final.
The teams entered the game with an even deeper familiarity with one another due to extensive WNBA connections, which went beyond the fact that many USA and Australian players had played in the league's 2018 season. At match time, Australia head coach Sandy Brondello was also head coach of the Phoenix Mercury, then home to Australia's Stephanie Talbot and Americans Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi. Rebecca Allen (Australia) and Tina Charles (USA) were New York Liberty teammates in that season. Five individuals who played significant roles in the Seattle Storm's victory in the 2018 WNBA Finals were involved in this game—American players Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, and Breanna Stewart, Australian player Sami Whitcomb, and Storm head coach and USA assistant Dan Hughes.
* 30 September 2018 20:00
* Boxscore
| Australia | 56–73 | United States |
| Scoring by quarter: 15–20, 12–15, 11–26, 18–12 |||
| Pts: Smith 10 Rebs: Cambage 14 Asts: O'Hea 4 | | Pts: Griner 15 Rebs: Stewart 8 Asts: Bird 5 |
* Tenerife Sports Pavilion Santiago Martin, San Cristóbal de La Laguna Attendance: 3,715 Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Yu Jung (TPE), Yohan Rosso (FRA)
| Players: | Players: | Players: | Pts. | Rebs. | Asts. |
| G/F | 4 | Jenna O'Hea | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| G/F | 6 | Stephanie Talbot* | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| G | 7 | Tess Madgen | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| C | 8 | Liz Cambage* | 7 | 14 | 1 |
| F | 9 | Rebecca Allen* | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| G | 10 | Katie-Rae Ebzery* | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| F | 11 | Alanna Smith | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| C | 12 | Alexandra Bunton | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| F | 13 | Eziyoda Magbegor | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| G | 14 | Tessa Lavey | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| C | 15 | Cayla George* | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| G | 32 | Sami Whitcomb | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Head coach: ||||||
| Sandy Brondello ||||||
| Australia | Statistic | United States |
| 18/45 (40.0%) | 2-pt field goals | 19/52 (36.5%) |
| 4/22 (18.2%) | 3-pt field goals | 6/19 (31.6%) |
| 8/12 (66.7%) | Free throws | 17/23 (73.9%) |
| 14 | Offensive rebounds | 14 |
| 35 | Defensive rebounds | 32 |
| 49 | Total rebounds | 46 |
| 13 | Assists | 18 |
| 19 | Turnovers | 12 |
| 4 | Steals | 7 |
| 8 | Blocks | 6 |
| 24 | Fouls | 16 |
| Players: | Players: | Players: | Pts. | Rebs. | Asts. |
| G | 4 | Jewell Loyd | 9 | 3 | 3 |
| G | 5 | Kelsey Plum | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| G | 6 | Sue Bird* | 6 | 4 | 5 |
| G | 7 | Layshia Clarendon | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 8 | Morgan Tuck | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| F | 9 | A'ja Wilson | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| F | 10 | Breanna Stewart* | 10 | 8 | 2 |
| F | 11 | Elena Delle Donne | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| G | 12 | Diana Taurasi* | 13 | 3 | 4 |
| F | 13 | Nneka Ogwumike | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| C | 14 | Tina Charles* | 6 | 4 | 1 |
| C | 15 | Brittney Griner* | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| Head coach: ||||||
| Dawn Staley ||||||
*– Starters