US beats pesky Nigeria 71-40 in World Cup quarterfinals

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LA LAGUNA, Spain (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 19 points and the United States rallied to beat pesky Nigeria 71-40 in the quarterfinals of the Women's Basketball World Cup on Friday.

Nigeria had been the surprise of the tournament by reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in the country's history. The African nation had been winless in its only previous appearance in 2006. Nigeria, which features many former U.S. college players, wasn't intimidated by the world's No. 1 team.

The Nigerians went right at the U.S. and built a 17-9 lead after one quarter. After almost every basket, Nigeria coach Otis Hughley Jr. — who grew up in New York — was pumping his fist and cheering his team on. On the other end, the U.S. couldn't buy a point. The Americans missed 14 of their 16 shots in the opening period and had eight turnovers while looking completely out of sync. It was the lowest scoring quarter of the tournament for the U.S.

Coach Dawn Staley tried many different combinations of players to get the offense going. The most effective group was led by Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd. The Seattle Storm trio, fresh off winning the WNBA championship, helped the U.S. close the half with a 14-3 run, including scoring the final eight points to go up 27-23 at the break. Stewart's 3-pointer with 2:04 left in the half gave the U.S. its first lead of the game.

The Americans continued their run to start the second half and opened up a double-digit lead early in the third quarter that they wouldn't relinquish.

STAT LINE: The Americans only trailed for a total of 8:24 in the first three games combined. They were down for 16:38 against Nigeria.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: It was a Gamecocks reunion with Dawn Staley coaching against former player Sarah Imovbioh, who helped South Carolina in 2015-16 to a 33-2 record, including a 16-0 mark in the SEC. A'ja Wilson was a sophomore on that team. She finished with five points. ... The game also had special meaning for USA Basketball star Nneka Ogwumike, who is of Nigerian descent. She had six points.

BEEN THERE BEFORE: Nigeria forward Elo Edeferioka hit the two free throws with 3.2 seconds left that helped beat Greece and send the team to the quarterfinals for the first time ever. It was a bit of sweet redemption for Edefericka, who had missed two free throws in the WNIT title game for Georgia Tech last spring with 0.6 seconds left. The Yellow Jackets lost in triple OT to Michigan.

UP NEXT:

Nigeria: Plays in the consolation round.

United States: Plays either Belgium or France in the semifinals.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports