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Team USA staves off disaster against Italy in rare tight win at FIBA World Cup

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Cite

Sears, E. (2026, September 6). Team USA staves off disaster against Italy in rare tight win at FIBA World Cup. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/06/sports/team-usa-staves-off-disaster-versus-italy-in-fiba-world-cup-win/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-06 · by Ethan Sears

Quick Summary

The U.S. women's basketball team won a 55-52 game against Italy at the FIBA World Cup in Berlin, avoiding what would have been their first loss in such a tournament since 2006. The key number is that the Americans trailed by two points with under five minutes left to play before making a late surge. This article reports on the surprising tightness of the game, given that the US has historically dominated international competition and had previously won by large margins, including a 34-point win over Italy just months ago. The author suggests that this close call will embolden other teams in future competitions.
Written by AI on 2026-09-07, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The Women's Basketball World Cup teams were staying at a hotel in Berlin, Germany, when a fire alarm went off in the middle of the night around 2 a.m., forcing players and coaches to evacuate the building for about an hour. Fortunately, there was no actual fire, just someone who had pushed the emergency alarm button in the elevator. The incident didn't seem to affect Australia's performance, as they beat Turkey 87-71 later that day.

However, the Americans did face a tougher challenge in their next game against Italy, which ended with a narrow 55-52 win for the U.S. Despite struggling on offense, the Americans managed to pull ahead with a few timely baskets late in the game and a key defensive play by Chelsea Gray. The Italians gave the Americans all they could handle, but ultimately came up just short.

The game was marked by some controversy when Italy's Cecilia Zandalasini appeared to be poked in the eye by Jackie Young while attempting a three-pointer to tie the game with seconds left. Zandalasini was seen yelling at the referees and was eventually held back by staff members. She later apologized for her outburst, saying she had been "a different person" when wearing the Italian jersey.

The U.S. team has now won 32 consecutive World Cup games, dating back to a loss to Russia in 2006. Despite their struggles on offense, they showed resilience and determination in pulling off the narrow victory over Italy.

Written for “US Women's Basketball at World Cup” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 US Women's Basketball at World Cup
Sports · 8 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Team USA basketball survives scare against Italy in FIBA Women's World Cup, secures quarterfinal berth Same event
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 9 claims Outlet record 69/100
A gritty late surge lifts the US past Italy 55-52 in its toughest World Cup test in years Same event
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 40 claims Outlet record 64/100
US overcome poor shooting and Italy’s eye-poke claims in edgy Fiba World Cup win Same event
The Guardian
Hedges 0 of 21 claims Outlet record 66/100
Fire alarm forces 2 a.m. evacuation at Women's Basketball World Cup teams' hotel Same event
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 64/100
Jackie Young leads a gritty US escape in a tight 55-52 women's World Cup win over Italy Same event
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 64/100
Italy’s upset bid falls short as the US escapes 55-52 in a tense World Cup game Same event
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 24 claims Outlet record 64/100
Both report
The two articles are about the same game between Team USA and Italy at the FIBA World Cup, with both reporting a score of 55-52 in favor of the US. Both articles mention that it was a tight win for the Americans, but they don't share any further details on what made this particular game noteworthy.
This one adds
The New York Post article provides more focus on the individual performance of Team USA players, particularly Breanna Stewart and Clark, who struggled with their shots. It also mentions that Young's 10 points led the US to victory and Stewart had a team-high 10 rebounds.
The other adds
The Star.com article includes a quote from Italy point guard Mariella Santucci, expressing her disappointment at losing despite being the "better team" in her opinion. This adds a human interest element to the story and provides insight into the Italian perspective on the game.
Framing
While both articles report on the same event, the New York Post article frames it as a rare tight win for Team USA, emphasizing their struggles with shooting accuracy. The Star.com article, on the other hand, focuses more on Italy's performance, highlighting their competitive nature and the fact that they gave the US all they could handle.
Italy women's basketball star tears into ref after missing game-tying shot vs US in Women's World Cup Same event
Fox News
Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 69/100
US women in familiar place reaching semifinals of World Cup, joined by Germany, France and Spain Different event
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 28 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different games: one where the US team barely won against Italy (Article A) and another where the US team dominated Hungary (Article B)”
US women storm past Hungary 108-56 to reach FIBA World Cup semifinals Different event
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The dates, locations, teams played, and scores are different between the two articles”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
8
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15511 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Ethan Sears
65 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The Islanders were on their heels late in regulation, requiring a few scrambling defensive shifts to get the game to overtime, but they would eventually earn the extra point.
2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Islanders return to identity after getting called out by Pete DeBoer
🔮 And second, while it might be true that three goals gives you a good chance every night, it leaves little margin for error.
2026-10-27 · assertive framing · Three-goals-a-night formula comes with issues for low-scoring Islanders
🔮 To the extent there’s a worry, it’s less about the here and now and more that the mileage Schaefer accumulates as a teenager could affect him in the future.
2026-10-26 · assertive framing · Matthew Schaefer’s increased Islanders workload isn’t as cut and dry as it seems
🔮 The suggestion that Scott Mayfield may soon ask for a trade was shot down earlier this week by Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche.
2026-10-25 · assertive framing · Scott Mayfield has no interest in moving on from Islanders despite benching
🔮 DALLAS — The day before a game in which he’s set to be the main character, Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer was typically understated regarding his own return here.
2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Pete DeBoer back in Dallas with Islanders for first time since shock Stars ouster
🔮 Since the Islanders’ 3-2 defeat to the Kings in overtime was Eklund’s 10th game with the club this year, the Swede — who scored a power play goal in the loss— will officially burn a year of his entry-level contract.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Islanders’ Victor Eklund already turning heads after just 10 games
🔮 Artemi Panarin pondered the question of whether it would feel like a homecoming of sorts to play on Long Island, and in the moment, he never really answered it.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Islanders still lose to Kings on night they did everything else right
🔮 The last scene similar to that, which greeted Brady Tkachuk in his return to the Canadian Tire Center following an unhappy divorce with the Senators, might be as far back as eight seasons ago when John Tavares was greeted with sheer hostility by the crowd at Nassau Coliseum on Feb. 28, 2019.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Islanders know the reality of Ottawa’s vitriolic Brady Tkachuk return
🔮 Do all of that and the players who are missing from the lineup will not be so front of mind.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · Islanders play most complete game of season in win over Ducks
🔮 Maybe they’ll both emerge for practice Monday no worse for wear and the whole episode can be forgotten.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Pete DeBoer gave Islanders the formula to survive injuries — now it’s time to execute
Also by Ethan Sears
Islanders return to identity after getting called out by Pete DeBoer
2026-10-28 · New York Post
Three-goals-a-night formula comes with issues for low-scoring Islanders
2026-10-27 · New York Post
Matthew Schaefer’s increased Islanders workload isn’t as cut and dry as it seems
2026-10-26 · New York Post
The Barry Trotz formula longtime Islanders see in Pete Deboer’s success
2026-10-25 · New York Post
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 65 articles by Ethan Sears →

Topics

Americans FIBA World Cup Italy Olympics U.S.

Subjects

Italy GPE · 8× Americans NORP · 5× Breanna Stewart PERSON · 2× Jackie Young PERSON · 2× Berlin GPE · 1× Cecilia Zandalasini PERSON · 1× Chelsea Gray PERSON · 1× Napheesa Collier PERSON · 1× Russia GPE · 1× U.S. GPE · 1×

Narrative

Breanna Stewart missed eight consecutive field goals before finally sinking one with just over three minutes to go; Clark missed all six of her shots and as a team, the US shot an abysmal 29 percent from the field. Young’s 10 points ultimately led the US and Stewart, who finished with five points, led the Americans with 10 rebounds.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-07
🔮 They looked surprised that Italy could hang, and responded by tightening up.
2026-09-07 · New York Post
Team USA staves off disaster against Italy in rare tight win at FIBA World Cup · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 2 hedged)

The U.S. women’s basketball team verged on disaster Sunday afternoon in a way it rarely has in its history. asserted
it → verge → history
A program that rarely wins by single digits was pushed to its absolute limit by Italy in the women’s FIBA World Cup, trailing with less than five minutes to go before escaping Berlin’s Uber Arena with a 55-52 win that allows them to avoid historical ignominy and move onto the quarterfinals. asserted
them → win → quarterfinals
Down 50-48 with 4:48 left, buckets by four different players — Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray — gave the Americans a 7-0 run and five-point lead that ultimately proved decisive. asserted
that → leave → run
Down three with under 30 seconds to go, the possession arrow went to Italy off a jump ball with a chance to tie. asserted
arrow → go → chance
Cecilia Zandalasini had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but missed after taking contact she felt should have resulted in a foul. asserted
she → have → foul
The Americans beat Italy by 34 points in a qualifier back in March. asserted
Americans → beat → March
The US has won gold in every Olympics and World Cup since 2006, and before that, since 1994. asserted
US → win → 1994
It has not lost a FIBA World Cup game since September 21, 2006, against Russia — its only loss in an Olympics or FIBA World Cup game since 1994. asserted
It → lose → 1994
While A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum aren’t in Germany, pulling out last week due to health issues, the American roster is nonetheless stacked with All-Star talent: Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston are all coming off the bench for Kara Lawson’s side. asserted
Bueckers → pull → side
Accordingly, the US blew past China 94-61 to open the tournament, and led Italy 23-8 early in the second quarter before things started to slip. asserted
things → blow → quarter
While the Americans never outright struggled defensively, it was a different story with the ball in their hands. asserted
it → struggle → hands
They didn’t make a 3-pointer until Bueckers sunk one with 1:49 to go in the third. asserted
Bueckers → make → third
They turned the ball over and struggled to finish through contact. asserted
They → turn → contact
They looked surprised that Italy could hang, and responded by tightening up. uncertain
Italy → look → ?
All of a sudden, Italy was leading. asserted
Italy → lead → ?
And the US was in a dogfight it wasn’t expecting, wasn’t ready for and could hardly survive. uncertain
it → expect → dogfight
On this star-studded roster, no player reached double-digit points until Jackie Young with less than three minutes left. asserted
player → reach → minutes
Breanna Stewart missed eight consecutive field goals before finally sinking one with just over three minutes to go; Clark missed all six of her shots and as a team, the US shot an abysmal 29 percent from the field. Young’s 10 points ultimately led the US and Stewart, who finished with five points, led the Americans with 10 rebounds. asserted
who → miss → rebounds
Zandalasini’s 14 points led Italy. asserted
points → lead → Italy
While the US secured its passage out of the group stage with a win, this result will boost the hopes of everyone else nonetheless. asserted
result → secure → everyone
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