Members of the U.S. Women's Basketball Team unite during a game against Serbia at the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women in Istanbul, Turkey on Sept. 28, 2014.
The USA Basketball Women’s National Team is in Istanbul this weekend where it hopes to win its ninth world championship title, and if it is successful, the U.S. women also will leave Turkey with a berth to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.
Dating back to 1953, the year of the first FIBA World Championship, the United States has been the most dominant team in the tournament. Only the former Soviet Union, which won six gold medals between 1959 (a year the United States did not field a team) and 1983, has come close. The United States is the defending champion, having won the world crown in 2010.
Here is a look, by the numbers, at Team USA as it heads to semifinals Saturday and perhaps the gold-medal game Sunday at the FIBA World Championship for Women.
1 – Dunk recorded in the FIBA World Championship, performed by Team USA’s Brittney Griner in the opening game against China. It is believed to be the first dunk in the women’s world championship
1 – Team USA’s FIBA world ranking entering the world championship
1 – Loss suffered by Team USA in the exhibition-game run-up to the FIBA World Championship. The United States lost, 76-72, to France in an exhibition game in Paris Sept. 21
2 – Gold medals won by the U.S. women’s team under the guidance of coach Geno Auriemma, one in 2010 at the last FIBA World Championship and one in 2012 at the Olympic Games in London
2 – Three-time Olympic champions on the U.S. world team (Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi)
3 – Players on Team USA’s world team who won the WNBA title this season with the Phoenix Mercury (Brittney Griner, Candice Dupree, Diana Taurasi)
4 – World championship tournaments that guard Sue Bird has competed in, the most of any player in U.S. history
5 – Players on world team who played college basketball at the University of Connecticut (Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi). Baylor has the next-highest college representatives with two (Odyssey Sims, Brittney Griner).
7 – Hours Turkey is ahead of EDT in the United States. Take note that the gold-medal game is set for 9:15 p.m. local time Sunday in Turkey.
7 – Olympians on the U.S. world team in Turkey (Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Diana Taurasi, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Angel McCoughtry, Maya Moore)
8 – Gold medals previously won by the United States, including one in 2010, the last year of the world championship.
9 – NCAA titles won by teams coached by Geno Auriemma at University of Connecticut
12 – Players on the Team USA roster
16 – Teams that participated in this edition of the FIBA World Championship, including the United States. Among other teams were host country, Turkey, Brazil (host of the 2016 Olympic Games) and Australia (the 2006 world champions).
20 – Age of Breanna Stewart, the youngest player on Team USA
33 – Age of Sue Bird, the oldest player on Team USA
68 – Height of guard Odyssey Sims, in inches. She is the shortest player on the Team USA roster at 5-foot-8.
75 – Point differential in the U.S. women’s victory against Angola (119-44), marking the largest margin of victory for the U.S. women in FIBA World Championship play.
80 – Height of center Brittney Griner, in inches. She is the tallest player on the Team USA roster at 6-foot-8.
15,000 – Seats in Fenerbahce Arena, where the gold-medal game will be played Sunday.
Amy Rosewater is a freelance writer and editor for TeamUSA.org. A former sports reporter for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, she covered her fifth Olympic Games in Sochi. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today.
