A gritty late surge lifts the US past Italy 55-52 in its toughest World Cup test in years

BERLIN (AP) — The United States faced its stiffest challenge in nearly two decades in the women's FIBA World Cup and escaped with a win over Italy thanks to a few timely baskets late and a key defensive play by Chelsea Gray.

Jackie Young scored 10 points to lead the struggling offense in the 55-52 win on Sunday. It was the fewest points the Americans had scored in a World Cup win since they beat Australia 42-38 in 1967.

“You have to be able to win different ways in this tournament because every team stylistically plays a little bit different,” U.S. coach Kara Lawson said. “You do have to be able to win when you don’t have your fastball. We didn’t have a fastball tonight, but we figured it out late and we’ll grow from it.”

The U.S. (2-0) has won 32 straight World Cup games dating to a loss to Russia in the 2006 semifinals. Only one team had come within single digits of the Americans during this run before Sunday, when Australia lost by eight points in 2010.

“Obviously, Italy really kind of mucked up the game for us a little bit,” Breanna Stewart said. “It made it difficult for us to score. They are a tough team. Tons of respect to what they’ve done. And, just proud of the resiliency of this group.”

The world has been closing the gap on the U.S. The Americans pulled off their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal in 2024, edging France by one point in the title game.

“We’ve seen that through the tournament that every game feels like a dogfight,” Lawson said. “It’s really hard. On any given night, if you’re not prepared to play, you’ll lose. That’s awesome for our sport.”

The U.S. trailed 50-48 with 4:29 left before going on a 7-0 run. Stewart, who missed her first eight shots, scored her first basket of the game to put the Americans up 51-50. Young then hit a layup after Gray drew that offensive foul with 3:03 left.

“I thought that late charge Chelsea took was a big momentum changing play,” Lawson said. “It was an incredible winning play by Gray there.”

Gray's jumper with 1:07 left made it a five-point game. Matilde Villa scored to get Italy back within three with less than a minute to go. The U.S. had a couple of chances to make it a two-possession lead but couldn’t convert.

Italy (1-1) had one last chance to tie it, but Cecilia Zandalasini’s 3-pointer was off at the buzzer.

Italy’s 2-3 zone defense caused the U.S. fits. The Americans couldn’t get into any rhythm and shot 29% from the field, including 1 for 12 from 3-point range. They missed a ton of layups too.

“I think we missed some shots. We missed some layups, some shots that we have made in the past,” Gray said.

The Americans were up early, leading 23-8 in what looked to be another blowout victory. Italy then switched to a zone defense and went on a 16-7 spurt to close the half down 30-24.

The Italians kept it going in the third quarter with an 11-2 run to go up 35-32. The Americans led 42-39 heading into the fourth.

Italy, which lost to the Americans by 34 in a tournament qualifier in March, wouldn’t go away and was up 50-48 in the fourth quarter before the Americans’ final push.

Zandalasini scored 14 points to lead Italy, which is making its first World Cup appearance since 1994. She apologized after the game for emotion she showed at the buzzer toward an official at the lack of a foul call.

“I would like to apologize for how I reacted in the end,” Zandalasini said. “It was a lot of emotions today, but I should have kept them inside of me a little better.”

In other games on Sunday, China edged the Czech Republic in overtime, Australia topped Turkey and Belgium beat Puerto Rico.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Italian players react during the Women's Basketball World Cup match between the United States and Italy in Berlin, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Breanna Stewart, of the United States, goes for a shot in front of Italy's Mariella Santucci during the Women's Basketball World Cup match between the United States and Italy in Berlin, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Breanna Stewart, of the United States, shoots over Italy's Lorela Cubaj during the Women's Basketball World Cup match between the United States and Italy in Berlin, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Jackie Young, of the United States, and Italy's Mariella Santucci rebound during the Women's Basketball World Cup match between the United States and Italy in Berlin, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Aliyah Boston, of the United States, shoots over Italy's Lorela Cubaj during the Women's Basketball World Cup match between the United States and Italy in Berlin, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

MIAMI (AP) — An Amazon cargo plane barreled off a runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday, killing at least five people as it struck vehicles and burst into flames, authorities said.

The aircraft overran the runway around 2 p.m. after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Five people were killed, three critically injured and two others hospitalized with less severe injuries, Miami-Dade County officials told a news conference. Miami officials said Sunday afternoon that it was too soon to determine whether the people who died were on board the plane or in the vehicles the plane hit.

The crash, which sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky, trapped the pilot and copilot in the cockpit and some occupants in cars, said Miami-Dade Rescue Fire Chief Ray Jadallah. The agency said another person was trapped under a vehicle.

It also halted flights at the busy travel hub for much of the afternoon. Fire crews were still dealing with a fuel leak on the plane several hours after the crash, Jadallah said.

The Prime Air plane came to rest beside a roadway near two semi-trucks, images from the scene showed. The aircraft appeared to be resting on its belly and was largely intact despite the fire. More than

The flight had been operated by 21 Air, a cargo carrier based in North Carolina. The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was originally built to carry passengers and flew for several airlines for more than two decades before being converted to a cargo plane in 2015, according to flight-tracking site Flightradar24.

About 250 flights were delayed at the airport late afternoon Sunday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is sending a team to Miami led by Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy to investigate.

Amazon said in a statement that it would cooperate with any investigation.

“We’re heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives in today’s incident at Miami International Airport," the company said. “Our deepest sympathies go out to the families, loved ones, and all those affected by this devastating loss.”

Jackson Lee, who runs an electronics shop near the crash site, went outside with four colleagues after the crash and saw smoke rising near the airport’s fences, Lee said.

“We hear planes taking off and landing every five minutes. I thought I’d got used to it,” Lee said. “I never thought it could come this close to us.”

Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press writers Tim Reynolds in Miami, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Wufei Yu in Phoenix contributed.

An Amazon cargo plane sits at the Miami International Airport (MIA) after it overshot the runway, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

An Amazon cargo plane sits at the Miami International Airport (MIA) after it overshot the runway, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/David Fischer)

An Amazon cargo plane sits at the Miami International Airport (MIA) after it overshot the runway, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/David Fischer)

An Amazon cargo plane sits at the Miami International Airport (MIA) after it overshot the runway, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)