SEVENTEENTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP -- 2014
Istanbul, Turkey • September 26 - October 5, 2014
Entering the 2014 FIBA World Championship as defending gold medalists, the official 12-member USA squad had just two days of practice prior to the Sept. 26 tip-off. Fortunately the team featured eight USA National Team veterans, including three-time Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, and was able to gel quickly.
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2014 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS
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Coached by University of Connecticut Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma, who now lists as just the second two-time gold medalist as a USA World Championship Team head coach, the USA earned an 87-56 victory over China to open play in Istanbul, Turkey.
Brittney Griner and Maya Moore topped the USA’s scoring with 15 points apiece as the squad grabbed a USA single-game World Championship record 63 rebounds.
Playing in its first Worlds, Serbia trailed by six points at the start of the final period before the USA pulled away for the 94-74 win, as Taurasi scored 13 of her 20 points in the fourth.
Angola, also competing in its first Worlds, was no match for the American women as the U.S. posted a record-setting 119-44 victory to wrap up preliminary play.
Nnemkadi Ogwumike led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The 75-point margin of victory was the most ever by a USA team at the Worlds, while the 61.5 (8-13 3pt FGs) percent shooting from 3-point and 32 assists also were U.S. records, and Breanna Stewart set a U.S. World Championship record by shooting 7-of-7 from the line.
Advancing to the medal round as the No. 1 team out of Group D, the USA shot a USA World Championship record 70.7 (41-58 FGs) percent from the field in a 94-72 quarterfinal victory over France. Opening the game with a 10-2 run, the USA led 29-14 at the first break and never looked back. Griner led the team with 17 points.
Meeting rival and also unbeaten Australia in the semifinals, the USA held the Aussies to just 34.2 percent shooting from the field and finished with a 49-31 rebounding advantage en route to a 82-70 victory. Australia was within six points, 61-55, early in the fourth quarter, but the U.S. pulled its lead back to double digits, 67-57. Following an Australian time out the USA scored nine unanswered points, and by the 5:30 mark, its lead was 74-57. Australia closed with a 13-8 run over the last five minutes, but the effort was too little, too late as the USA, paced by a team-high 18 points from Charles, earned the 82-70 win and the right to play in the gold medal game.
The U.S. earned its second-straight and ninth overall World Championship gold medal with a dominating 77-64 win over Spain as Moore, who led five U.S. players in double-digit scoring with 18 points, was named MVP of the tournament, and she was joined on the all-tournament team by Griner, who added 11 points. Further, Bird became FIBA’s only women’s World Championship four-time medalist, as well as the most decorated FIBA World Championship athlete in history, male or female, having now won three golds (2002, 2010, 2014) and one bronze medal (2006).
Australia beat host Turkey 74-44 in the bronze medal game.
| NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | AGE | AFFILIATION/SCHOOL | HOMETOWN |
| Seimone Augustus | G/F | 6-0 | 166 | 30 | Minnesota Lynx/Louisiana State | Baton Rouge, LA |
| Sue Bird | G | 5-9 | 150 | 33 | Seattle Storm/Connecticut | Syosset, NY |
| Tina Charles | C | 6-4 | 198 | 25 | New York Liberty/Connecticut | Jamaica, NY |
| Candice Dupree | F | 6-2 | 175 | 30 | Phoenix Mercury/Temple | Tampa, FL |
| Brittney Griner | C | 6-8 | 199 | 23 | Phoenix Mercury/Baylor | Houston, TX |
| Angel McCoughtry | G/F | 6-1 | 160 | 28 | Atlanta Dream/Louisville | Baltimore, MD |
| Maya Moore | F | 6-0 | 176 | 25 | Minnesota Lynx/Connecticut | Lawrenceville, GA |
| Nnemkadi Ogwumike | F | 6-2 | 188 | 24 | Los Angeles Sparks/Stanford | Cypress, TX |
| Odyssey Sims | G | 5-8 | 155 | 22 | Tulsa Shock/Baylor | Irving, TX |
| Breanna Stewart | F/C | 6-4 | 175 | 20 | n/a/Connecticut | North Syracuse, NY |
| Diana Taurasi | G | 6-0 | 163 | 32 | Phoenix Mercury/Connecticut | Chino, CA |
| Lindsay Whalen | G | 5-9 | 169 | 32 | Minnesota Lynx/Minnesota | Hutchinson, MN |
| Head Coach: Geno Auriemma, University Of Connecticut | ||||||
| Assistant Coach: Doug Bruno, Depaul University | ||||||
| Assistant Coach: Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota Lynx | ||||||
| Assistant Coach: Dawn Staley, University of South Carolina | ||||||
| Team Physician: Dave Walden, Colorado Springs, Colorado | ||||||
| Athletic Trainer: Ed Ryan, Colorado Springs, Colorado | ||||||
| NAME | G/S | FGM-A | PCT | 3PM-A | PCT | FTM-A | PCT | REB | PTS | AS | BK | ST |
| Moore | 6/6 | 37-70 | .529 | 14-27 | .519 | 4-5 | .800 | 36/6.0 | 92/15.3 | 21 | 1 | 4 |
| Griner | 6/6 | 30-45 | .667 | 0-0 | .--- | 14-23 | .609 | 37/6.2 | 74/12.3 | 8 | 12 | 3 |
| Charles | 6/6 | 29-54 | .537 | 0-1 | .000 | 6-12 | .500 | 50/8.3 | 64/10.7 | 13 | 3 | 4 |
| Augustus | 6/0 | 25-45 | .556 | 2-4 | .500 | 4-4 | 1.000 | 22/3.7 | 56/9.3 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| Taurasi | 6/6 | 18-38 | .474 | 8-20 | .400 | 9-12 | .750 | 14/2.3 | 53/8.8 | 27 | 1 | 3 |
| Whalen | 6/0 | 20-35 | .571 | 0-0 | .--- | 10-16 | .625 | 20/3.3 | 50/8.3 | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| Ogwumike | 6/0 | 17-29 | .586 | 0-0 | .--- | 11-12 | .917 | 29/4.8 | 45/7.5 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| McCoughtry | 6/0 | 16-32 | .500 | 2-4 | .500 | 5-8 | .625 | 13/2.2 | 39/6.5 | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| Dupree | 6/0 | 14-27 | .519 | 0-0 | .--- | 6-9 | .667 | 21/3.5 | 34/5.7 | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| Sims | 5/0 | 5-6 | .833 | 1-1 | 1.000 | 5-6 | .833 | 5/1.0 | 16/3.2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Bird | 6/6 | 8-19 | .421 | 1-6 | .167 | 2-2 | 1.000 | 13/2.2 | 19/3.2 | 13 | 0 | 5 |
| Stewart | 6/0 | 2-8 | .250 | 0-2 | .000 | 7-7 | 1.000 | 11/1.8 | 11/1.8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| USA |
6 | 221-408 | .542 | 28-65 | .431 | 83-116 | .716 | 305/50.8 | 553/92.2 | 134 | 21 | 35 |
| OPP. |
6 | 140-434 | .323 | 38-124 | .306 | 62-80 | .775 | 186/31.0 | 380/63.3 | 65 | 5 | 45 |
