BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The United States won the women's basketball World Cup for a record-extending 12th time, defeating a spirited France, 97-79, thanks to an excellent second-half in the final in Berlin on Sunday. 

The US are perennial red-hot favorites in this tournament and had not lost a World Cup match since 2006, but they were below their best for much of the competition. 

They trailed by two points at half-time to an energetic France side but turned it on when it mattered, outscoring the Europeans, 30-12, in the third quarter.

American veteran Breanna Stewart once again led from the front, scoring a game-high 22 points along with 10 rebounds and four assists as she became the first player to be named World Cup Most Valuable Player for the second time. 

"I'm really happy the way we let the rest of the world know our goal is always gold," she told reporters, while describing the country's World Cup record as "an insane stat."

Coach Kara Lawson called Stewart "the greatest winner that we've had probably."

Jackie Young hit four crucial threes and finished with 18 points to extend the US record to 36 wins in a row at the tournament. 

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark scored just one point in the semifinal but chipped in with some crucial buckets down the stretch, scoring 12 points including two threes as the Americans silenced the pro-France crowd. 

"We kind of got in a little bit of a hole there," Clark told reporters of the second-quarter.

"And then we came back in and kind of dug ourselves out of it.

"That run we went on into halftime and then came out in the second half and really just dominated from there."

Playing in their first ever World Cup final, France was seeking revenge for their one-point loss in the gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics but lost their composure as the Americans turned on the afterburners in the second half, committing 16 turnovers.  

France's Gabby Williams, the player of the match in their semi-final win over Germany, scored an impressive 16 points in the opening half but added just four more after that.

The US, the huge favorite that is used to dominating World Cups and the Olympics, came into the game looking vulnerable, having come close to defeats against unheralded Italy and again against Spain in the semifinals.