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Caitlin Clark Struggles in Team USA’s Dominant Win vs. Puerto Rico in FIBA World Cup Qualifiers

Caitlin Clark and Team USA got the win over hosts Puerto Rico in the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifying tournament on Thursday night.
Caitlin Clark and Team USA got the win over hosts Puerto Rico in the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifying tournament on Thursday night. | Photo by Alexa Alejandro/FIBA via Getty Images

Team USA cruised to a 91-48 win over hosts Puerto Rico in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying tournament on Thursday night, and the woman of the match was Sky star Angel Reese.

In her second game for the U.S. national team, Reese recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds while also adding two assists in 16 minutes.

Other big contributors included reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers, who led the team in scoring with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting (and was +25 in 21 minutes played). Both Kelsey Plum and Kiki Iriafen also showed up on offense, while Caitlin Clark noticeably struggled. Clark, who recorded a double-double (17 points, 12 assists) in her national team debut against Senegal on Wednesday, went just 2-of-6 from the field and 1-of-5 from three. Clark finished with eight points, two assists and three rebounds in what turned out to be a relatively easy win for Team USA.

Here’s her lone three-pointer in the third quarter:

Team USA, who have won gold at four straight World Cups and 11 overall, will play three more games over the next week against Italy, New Zealand and Spain.

Here’s a refresher on all the action from Team USA’s big win over Puerto Rico:

Team USA vs. Puerto Rico Live Updates: Caitlin Clark Faces Next Test in FIBA World Cup Qualifiers 

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020 and has a bachelor’s in English and linguistics from Columbia University. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. She is a lifelong Liverpool fan who enjoys solving crossword puzzles and hanging out at her neighborhood dive bar in NYC.