The U.S. women's national team is in Berlin, where it will attempt to extend its dominance in international competition. Fun fact: the U.S. hasn't lost an official international tournament since 2006 – 20 years ago.
It's a brilliant tradition, and this year, Duke coach Kara Lawson is driving the train.
Team USA opened against China, with 7-3 center Zhang Ziyu on Friday, and the game was never close – not even when China paired Zhang with 6-10 Han Xu. There was no comparison between the teams, at least not on Friday, as the U.S. rolled to a 94-61 win.
There was a bit of controversy when Lawson opted not to start Caitlin Clark (and Paige Bueckers), but her job is not to start fan favorites, but to win. So far, she's passing that test nicely.
Clark ended up with 11 assists and Lawson praised her for changing the tempo of the game.
Putting together a team like this is tricky, but Lawson isn't the first Duke coach to do so, obviously, and we'd expect she sought out advice from former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who of course won gold with the men's team in 2008, 2012, and 2016.
On Sunday, the U.S. squares off with Italy. Game time is 2:45 p.m. EST.
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