Team USA: Howard’s hot shooting leads to another big win

For the second time at the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Team USA crossed the century mark, scoring over 100 points as they defeated New Zealand, 101-46, to advance to 4-0.

Despite the lopsided outcomes, the New Zealanders mustered stretches of competitiveness. Team USA actually trailed well into the first quarter, with the Americans’ sluggish start inspiring a irritated timeout from acting head coach Nate Tibbetts.

It was Team USA’s first wave of substitutes, with Rhyne Howard, Angel Reese and Jackie Young replacing Caitlin Clark, Dearica Hamby and Monique Billings, that injected the Americans with pep, turning a one-point deficit into a 27-12 advantage by the end of the quarter.

Howard’s 3-point shooting, in particular, was the difference maker for Team USA. Rhy was cashing in on catching shoot 3s with ease, finishing 6-for-10 from behind the arc as she scored a team-high 18 points.

Playing her most minutes in the tournament thus far, Rae Burrell also offered her characteristic burst of energy, with Team USA outscoring New Zealand by a team-best 33 points in her almost 19 minutes. Burrell tallied seven efficient points, as well as four assists. Her improvement, as she is balancing her mostly-good chaos with more composure, is translating beyond Unrivaled and the confines of Sephora Arena. Although unlikely to make the final World Cup roster, Burrell not only has proved that she belongs, but also can add value in this setting.

After opting for single-big lineups for most of the win over Italy, Team USA returned to two-big looks for much of this game. The starting frontcourt was Billings and Dearica Hamby, with Clark, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum forming the starting backcourt. Once again, the three-guard alignment of Clark, Plum and Paige Bueckers saw notable time together, albeit bolstered by two bigs rather than a big and wing, as was the approach against Italy.

Limited against Italy, both Billings and Kiki Iriafen made the most of their increased minutes. Billings joined Howard as one of Team USA’s four double-figure scorers with 10 points; Plum also scored 10 points while Clark had 14 points. Iriafen chipped in nine points, in addition to a team-high eight boards.

Kahleah Copper did not see any action, a presumed planned absence for the well-established Team USA stalwart.

After the game, Tibbetts spoke about the challenges Team USA’s lineup experimentation presents to players who are accustomed to consistent minutes and roles. Tibbetts shared:

One thing with this tournament, and just talking to Kara and our coaching staff, is it’s not always easy for players to get into a rhythm when the coaches are messing with the lineups.

Part of that is just seeing who works well together and who doesn’t. Giving people different opportunities to come off the bench or start, playing big versus playing small.

Team USA will close out their tournament on Tuesday with what’s likely to be their toughest test, a matchup with Spain. The Americans and Spanish are scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. ET (truTV).

What teams are headed to Berlin? Which squads still need to qualify?

On Sunday, China, Korea and Italy secured their spots in September’s World Cup, joining the seven teams that already had qualified: the United States, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Nigeria, France and Spain.

Six spots remain unclaimed.

From the tournament in Wuhan, Brazil, Czechia and Mali can still punch their World Cup tickets. In San Juan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Senegal remain alive. Argentina, Canada, Hungary, Japan and Türkiye are all still in qualification contention from the tournament in Istanbul.

Brazil, Czechia, Canada, Türkiye, Hungary and Puerto Rico control their own destinies; with wins, they’re in. Mali, New Zealand, Senegal, Argentina and Japan need wins, plus some help, to book at trip to Berlin.