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Gabby Williams and record-breaking France are Team USA's biggest FIBA World Cup threat
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- Gabby Williams and record-breaking France are Team USA's biggest FIBA World Cup threat
Gabby Williams and record-breaking France are Team USA's biggest FIBA World Cup threat originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The France national team never has won the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. It has one third-place finish to its name, all the way back in 1953, when the tournament was first held in Chile.
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This year might be different, though.
Amid the United States' wobble against Italy on Sunday, France came out Monday and torched Nigeria, nearly doubling up their Group B rivals to sail into the quarterfinals with a perfect 3-0 record.
In their 111-56 victory at Berlin's Uber Arena, France set a new World Cup record for 3-pointers made with 22. Five France players scored in double digits; WNBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate Gabby Williams led the way with a game-high 25. Williams and New York Liberty sharpshooter Marine Johannes combined for 42 points on 14-of-22 shooting, including 11 threes.
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MORE: Caitlin Clark and Team USA survive Italy despite awful shooting night
France's dominant showing against Nigeria reaffirms that it is the top threat to the United States at this FIBA World Cup. The historic shooting performance on Monday afternoon stands in stark contrast to Team USA's dismal showing against Italy on Sunday; the Americans shot just 29 percent from the floor, but stellar defense saw them hang on to a 55-52 win .
France has size, scoring and lockdown defenders. They are easily Team USA's biggest adversary at this tournament, and the two teams have been kept on opposite sides of the World Cup's knockout bracket -- ensuring that they can only meet in the final, barring a semifinal upset.
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