Team USA maintained its winning run in the World Cup following the recent unbeaten championship, and also now in the qualifying games. Apart from Rhyne Howard’s game-high 21 points, it was all young gang who took care of the business for Team USA, with Cailtin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese delivering on the big stage.
Angel Reese delivered in both games, while Cailtin Clark recorded a double-double in the first game and struggled a bit against Puerto Rico. PB stepped up in the second game with a team-high 16 points. Even the Puerto Rican coach’s daughter showed support for Bueckers and Clark.
WNBA Analyst, though, was not happy with the win over the host nation as he pointed out the glaring difference in the two games.
WNBA Analyst Not Satisfied With Paige Bueckers’ Led Win Against Puerto Rico
Team USA, led by Caitlin Clark, is one of the fan favorites in the competition. Clark receives a massive ovation from the Puerto Rico crowd during Team USA’s entry. Other young stars who received a similar welcome were PB and Reese.
While the trio of rookies put up high-quality performances in both games, leading the side to a 2-0 record in the competition, WNBA Analyst Robin Lundberg pointed out that the second game against Puerto Rico was “almost completely in the other direction as far as how ugly it was.”
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As per the analyst, the team lost its sync, and individual brilliance helped the side to achieve victory. He added that the win over Puerto was “a little bit of a rough watch.”
But he found some positives too from the game as he praised Reese and Pueckers. HE called the former UConn star a born scorer, and lauded the LUS forward’s ‘relentless efforts on the boards.’
Clark, who missed out on going big against the host country, also praised her back-court partner in the post-game interview.
Caitlin Clark Praises Paige Bueckers’ Game-Winning Performance
CC was in focus once again after her clinical performance in the opening game. Sadly, she couldn’t match her ‘standards’ yet was very effective on the court. After the win, the player lauded her teammate’s offensive play, leading the side to victory.
In the interview, Clark said, “I thought the game was a little clunky; we probably didn’t play our best. I thought Paige played really well. But it felt good! I mean, I obviously didn’t shoot it as well as I probably would have liked. I think their zone kind of threw us off, and it slowed down our pace a little bit. We didn’t get as much in transition.”
The team will play against Italy on Saturday and then will face New Zealand on Sunday, and complete the qualifying competition with a game against Spain on Tuesday.