No pressure and no thoughts of revenge for France going into women's FIBA World Cup final

BERLIN (AP) — After enduring heartbreak in the women’s basketball final at the 2024 Olympics, France star Gabby Williams seems to be on a mission at the women’s FIBA World Cup.

Williams led her team to the final Saturday with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals in an 86-64 win over host Germany , potentially setting up a showdown with the United States on Sunday for a repeat of the Olympic final.

The Americans won that gold medal match in Paris by a point, 67-66, after Williams’ last-second shot was just inside the 3-point line rather than outside to tie the game.

The U.S. was playing Spain in the second World Cup semifinal later Saturday.

Williams told reporters beforehand she had “no preference” which team France will face on Sunday.

The former UConn standout has been outstanding in the tournament with double figures in each of her five games.

The win over Germany was undoubtedly the toughest with the home team receiving loud support from the partisan home fans at Berlin Arena. It was the first game in the tournament in which the French failed to break the 90-point mark.

But Williams was still proud of her team’s achievement — France had never played a women’s FIBA World Cup semifinal before so Sunday’s final will also be the country’s first.

“I’m proud of the fight in this group, the determination, the encouragement during the matches, and simply their effort,” Williams said. “We were up against a good team tonight. We’ve had matches that were a bit easier so to speak, but I’m glad we didn’t panic just because we didn’t win by 20 points right away.”

Williams scored all but one of her five free throws despite the efforts from the hostile crowd to put her off.

“I’ve been through quite a few moments like that. I know what that kind of pressure is like. I know what’s needed in those moments,” she said.

If Williams had any doubts, she didn’t show them.

“We’re not going to show weaknesses on the court, we’re not going to show doubts. If we did, our opponents would eat us alive,” she said.

Janelle Salaün, who had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Germany, said the 2024 Olympic final was in the past and would have no bearing on Sunday’s decider.

“That was two years ago,” Salaün said of the Olympics. “There were different people involved, different players, so now we’re focusing on tomorrow and the here and now.”

Whatever happens Sunday, France is set for its best World Cup finish. France hasn’t won a medal since the inaugural tournament in 1953, when the team finished third in the final round.

“It means a lot. This is the first time we’re taking it to this level,” France coach Jean-Aimé Toupane said. “You guys can see how French basketball all around the world is improving.”

Marine Johannès, another of the team’s stars, said there was no pressure to take home gold.

“If I’m (being) honest we have nothing to lose,” Johannès said. “We actually know they are a great team. They won every World Cup for years and years. We are playing with these players all season in W(NBA) actually. We know how good they are. It’s one game, nothing to lose. We are going to play hard and we’ll see what happens.”

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here