US women storm past Hungary 108-56 to reach FIBA World Cup semifinals

BERLIN (AP) — Napheesa Collier scored 19 points and the U.S. routed Hungary 108-56 to advance to the semifinals of the women's FIBA World Cup on Thursday.

The U.S. will play the winner of the Spain-Australia game on Saturday in the medal round. France played China and Belgium played host Germany in the other quarterfinal matchups.

The Americans have now won 34 consecutive games in the tournament dating to a loss to Russia in the 2006 World Cup semifinals. The U.S. has made every medal round since 1983 when the format changed to have medal rounds.

It was a record-breaking performance for the U.S. The 108 points was the most by any team ever in a quarterfinal. The U.S. had 31 assists, again the most in this round.

“When that ball is moving, we want to get the best possible shot,” said Kahleah Copper, who had 10 points. “We want to make sure everybody gets involved. Everyone here on this roster, we know what they’re doing on their respective (WNBA) teams. But you come here, you sacrifice a little bit of that.”

Copper said the players were always looking to turn good scoring opportunities into great ones. The Americans did just that.

The U.S. was off and running early against Hungary, jumping out to a 36-12 lead after the first quarter. The Americans were constantly pounding the ball inside and converting turnovers into easy layups. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese showed their growing chemistry on the court, finishing the quarter with a nifty pick and roll just before the buzzer. Collier had 10 points in the first 10 minutes.

The offense was sizzling early on as the Americans hit 20 of their first 26 shots (77%), including five of six 3-point attempts to race to a 50-18 lead with 6 minutes left in the first half. The Americans led 59-30 at the break — the highest scoring first half in team history in a knockout game at the event according to FIBA.

The Americans got a little scare when Sonia Citron had to leave in the third quarter when she was hit in the nose by a Hungary player's hand by accident. Citron returned to start the fourth quarter.

Clark finished with 10 points and nine assists, just missing out on her second double-double of the tournament.

The U.S. was also solid on defense. They contained Hungary's top scorer Dorka Juhasz, who plays for the Minnesota Lynx. She came into the game averaging 15.3 points and 11 rebounds in the tournament. She missed her first seven shots and didn't get her first basket until 2:26 was left in the half. She finished the game with two points on 1 of 12 shooting.

Hungary came away with its best finish ever in the World Cup by reaching the quarterfinals for the first time. Hungary was fifth in the 1957 tournament but back then it was a round robin with no medal rounds.

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Angel Reese, of the United States, left, and Paige Bueckers, react during the Women's Basketball World Cup quarterfinal match between the United States and Hungary in Berlin, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Jackie Young, of the United States, goes for a shot during the Women's Basketball World Cup quarterfinal match between the United States and Hungary in Berlin, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Hungary's Kinga Josepovits guards Angel Reese, of the United States, during the Women's Basketball World Cup quarterfinal match between the United States and Hungary in Berlin, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Angel Reese, of the United States, gies for a shot in front pf Hungary's Panka Dul during the Women's Basketball World Cup quarterfinal match between the United States and Hungary in Berlin, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Canada on Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Mark Carney, his latest international trip aimed at locking in future support for the fight against Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine is under pressure from Russia’s air war, which is using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to pierce defenses. Moscow’s attacks have targeted Ukraine’s power grid ahead of the upcoming winter as part of its campaign to demoralize civilians, Ukrainian officials say.

“The main focus will be on supporting Ukraine in protecting our skies and preparing for the winter,” Zelenskyy said of his Canada trip in a social media post. “We will discuss how to strengthen our resilience, support our people, and ensure that Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself.”

Canada and European countries are sending their own weaponry to Ukraine and are also buying American weapons for Kyiv under the so-called Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL. The United States under President Donald Trump has stopped donating weapons to Ukraine.

“Canada has consistently provided Ukraine with concrete support, and this visit is about taking that cooperation further,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who was also on the trip, said on X.

Recent U.S. efforts to stop the more than four years of fighting have delivered no significant breakthrough, although Washington-brokered talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv are expected to continue.

Zelenskyy’s arrival on Wednesday night in Calgary, Alberta, came the day after his flight from Moldova to Norway was delayed when authorities closed Moldova’s airspace because of a drone incursion.

The aerial drone battle between Russia and Ukraine has grown in scale since Russia’s all-out invasion in February 2022. Ukraine’s neighbors Romania and Moldova, and other European countries, have reported repeated drone incursions.

A Ukrainian sea drone wounded 28 people, including two children, on the waterfront in the Russian city of Sochi, local officials said. They said that beach infrastructure had been damaged but did not provide further details.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday that its forces shot down 448 Ukrainian drones overnight. The drones were destroyed over 13 Russian regions, as well as the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black and Caspian seas, the ministry said.

Falling debris from a Ukrainian drone set fire to a home in Russia’s southwestern Voronezh region, killing one woman and wounding two other people, local Gov. Alexander Gusev said Thursday.

Ukrainian forces struck eight Russian infrastructure targets supporting the war effort over the past 24 hours, including a refinery in the Yamalo-Nenets region and a port in Dagestan, Zelenskyy said Thursday.

Targets in the Moscow, Voronezh, Astrakhan and Bryansk regions were also hit, he said.

Those targets were hundreds of kilometers (miles) apart, underlining the scope and scale of Ukraine's domestically developed long-range drone technology that has unsettled Russia.

The previous day, Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery more than 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles) from Ukraine in Siberia, Ukraine’s General Staff said, confirming earlier reports.

Meantime, Russian forces launched 149 drones, many of them jet-propelled, at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force said Thursday.

One person was killed and two others wounded in a Russian drone attack on the Kyiv region on Thursday morning, regional head Tymur Tkachenko said.

At least 16 other civilians were wounded in other Ukrainian regions, according to local authorities.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska arrive in Calgary, Alberta, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska arrive in Calgary, Alberta, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)