Team USA beat Serbia to march into Women’s Basketball World Cup semifinals

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Team USA defeated Serbia 88-55 on Thursday to advance to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup semifinals.

Three players registered double-digit scores for the reigning champions USA at Sydney's SuperDome.

Alyssa Thomas played a key role in the victory, racking up a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

Kelsey Plum played with 17 and A'Ja Wilson netted 15 points and eight rebounds.

"Serbia really tested us. They played super physical, more physical than we’ve played against the whole tournament, credit to them," Plum said after the game.

"I felt early on their pressure bothered us a little bit but we kinda got under control, and the second quarter we held them to single digits which is our identity and what we want to be going forward in this tournament," she added.

Yvonne Anderson was the highest scorer on the Serbian side, with 14 points and seven assists. Jovana Nogic finished the game with 11 points.

The win was the 28th in a row at World Cup events for reigning champions the US, who haven’t lost since the semifinal against Russia in the 2006 world tournament held by Brazil.

Also, Canada, China, and Australia advanced to the next round after beating their opponents.

The USA will face Canada, and China will take on Australia on Friday.

The 19th edition of FIBA's most distinguished women's event, the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022, is taking place in Sydney, Australia from Sept. 22 to Oct. 1

- Quarterfinal results:

USA - Serbia: 88-55

Puerto Rico - Canada: 60-79

China - France: 85-71

Belgium - Australia: 69-86