Team USA sets quarterfinals assists record in 52-point rout of Hungary to advance to World Cup semifinals

Team USA cruised into the semifinals of the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup with a historic 108-56 victory over Hungary in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The 108 points were the most ever scored in a quarterfinal game at the World Cup, and tied for the second-most ever scored in a knockout-round game. Additionally, Team USA's 31 assists were a record for a quarterfinal game.  

Next up for the Americans, who have now won 34 consecutive games at the World Cup, will be the winner of Spain and Australia. Their quarterfinal matchup is set for 2:45 p.m. ET on Thursday. 

After surviving a major scare from Italy in the second game of the tournament, Team USA has been utterly dominant, and their performance against Hungary was as good as it gets. They shot 60% from the field, knocked down 12 3-pointers, outscored Hungary 52-16 in the paint, dished out 31 assists and were so locked in defensively that Hungary had more turnovers (27) than made shots (22). 

"This was one of our most complete performances of the tournament," Team USA coach Kara Lawson said. "Defensively we were active, forced a lot of turnovers, was really pleased by that. And then offensively, we as coaches love when they share the ball and they did that at a high level... Pleased to be moving on and excited to find out later who our matchup will be."

Team USA is now two wins away from a fifth consecutive World Cup gold medal, which would tie the Soviet Union's record of five consecutive golds from 1959-1975. As the Americans prepare for Saturday's semifinal, here are some key takeaways from a big win over Hungary. 

Collier leads the way

Napheesa Collier, who only returned from offseason surgery on both ankles in late July, got off to a slow start in Berlin and managed just 10 points on 13 shots in the first two games against China and Italy. But in the group stage finale against Czechia, she found a rhythm and finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two assists. 

Against Hungary, she picked up right where she left off. Her bucket just under six minutes into the game put Team USA up 20-9 and established a double-digit lead that would only grow throughout the day. In the first quarter alone, Collier registered 10 points, three rebounds and a block. 

Collier only ended up playing 15 minutes due to the nature of the game, but still finished with 19 points, six rebounds and a block, and Team USA was +35 with her on the floor. Her 19 points were tied with Breanna Stewart's 19 against Czechia for the most in a game by an American at this tournament. 

This is the version of Collier that Team USA will need as the competition ramps up, and it's a great sign that she's finding a groove. 

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Kara Lawson is a defensive-minded coach, and her team gave her a performance to be proud of on that end of the floor. 

Hungary, led by their pair of 6-foot-4 bigs, Dorka Juhász and Virag Takacs-Kiss, prefers to operate inside-out, but Team USA would not let that happen. The likes of Collier, Breanna Stewart, Aliyah Boston and Angel Reese did a terrific job holding their own in those matchups. Their athleticism and aggression forced Juhász and Takacs-Kiss out to the perimeter where they're less comfortable, and that duo combined for four points on 2 of 22 shooting. As a team, Hungary scored a tournament-low 16 points in the paint. 

The Americans also did a terrific job applying pressure to the turnover-prone Hungarians, who entered the game averaging a tournament-worst 21.5 turnovers. Nine different American players had a steal as Team USA forced a whopping 27 turnovers, which they turned into 44 points. And they did so without fouling. Team USA committed just nine fouls and Hungary was held to three free throw attempts. 

"We put a heavy emphasis on defending without fouling," Kahleah Copper said. "Finding that balance of the physicality, but not fouling. I think we did a good job of adjusting from the pool play to now. So, again, that was a heavy emphasis and we were able to do that tonight."

Record-setting offensive performance

Collier led the way with 19 points, but this was a true team effort offensively from Team USA. Five players -- Collier (19), Rhyne Howard (15), Caitlin Clark (10), Copper (10) and Jackie Young (10) -- scored in double figures, nine players had at least seven points and all 12 players on the roster got on the scoresheet as the Americans set a number of offensive records. 

In its best showing thus far in Berlin, Team USA shot 59% from the field, including 12 of 23 (52%) from 3-point range, and assisted on 31 of 40 made field goals. Here's a look at some of the records they set:

• Most points in a World Cup quarterfinal game
  
• Second-most points in a World Cup knockout round game
• Most assists in a World Cup quarterfinal game
• Tied most 3s by USA in a World Cup game

Dating back to 1986, Team USA has six of the seven highest-scoring games in the knockout stage of the World Cup. 

"Having 30 assists really speaks to the game, the way that we're moving the ball. It's not one-on-one basketball, we're playing as a team," Collier said. "Multiple people are getting touches, we're finding the best shot, not just a good shot. That reflects that. I feel like each game we're improving with that, just getting our chemistry.

"This team has never played together with this group of people, so sometimes it takes a while to come together," Collier continued. "But we're taking advantage of each practice, each game that we have."