SYDNEY, Australia — Seattle forward Breanna Stewart drilled a game-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds as reigning clinical champions the United States crushed Canada 83-43 to sweep into the women's basketball World Cup final on Friday.
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They opened with 15 unanswered points and never relented, extending their impressive World Cup winning streak to 29 games to set up a gold-medal showdown in Sydney against Australia or China, who play later.
Ever-dangerous Las Vegas Aces' star A'ja Wilson added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the US as they zero in on a fourth straight title and 11th overall. Laeticia Amihere scored eight points to lead a deflated Canada.
The USA were always overwhelming favorites in their 10th consecutive World Cup semi-final, having never failed to reach the last four since the knockout stage was introduced in 1986.
In contrast, world number four Canada had gotten this far just once before, in 1986, when they also crashed to the USA.
The Americans' depth, defense, and scoring talent were again on display.
They have killed it inside all tournaments, sinking 55 points a game in the paint ahead of the semi-final while punishing errors.
It was a similar scenario against Canada, who have taken big strides under coach Victor Lapena but struggled against the speed of their opponents.
The USA's 15 straight points at the start gave them an immediate stranglehold, and Canada never recovered, needing five minutes to get off the mark.
While the US shot 79 percent, Canada could only manage 11 percent as they fell 27-7 behind after the first quarter.
The margin only grew in the second frame to 45-21, with Stewart at the forefront.
They put on another 22 points in the third quarter to build a huge 38-point buffer going into the final stretch before cruising home for an emphatic win.
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