Before the women’s basketball World Cup, Team USA coach Kara Lawson acknowledged what some box scores have been indicating for a while: The United States is still the most dominant team in the world, but the gap isn’t as large as it once was.“I think there’s no question that the world is improving at a rapid rate,” Lawson said. “It’s so exciting to see, and I see it at every level.”Lawson might not have been as excited to see that rapid rate of improvement as closely as she did Sunday in Berlin as Team USA eked out a 55-52 win over Italy in its second game of the tournament.In March, during World Cup qualifiers in Puerto Rico, Team USA beat Italy by 34 points. Though qualifier and World Cup rosters weren’t identical, the gulf in performance — just six months removed — against an opponent that had been so soundly defeated certainly caused some anxiety. It was one of the closest games Team USA has played in a major international competition in the last decade, and against a team that — on paper — was overmatched — even without veteran star A’ja Wilson joining Team USA in Germany. It was just the fifth single-digit win in the last decade for the U.S and Team USA’s lowest scoring output in international competition in the last 50 years.The Italians hadn’t qualified for the World Cup since 1994 and hadn’t played in any World Cup or Olympics since the 1996, when they finished eighth at the Atlanta Olympics. At those same Olympic Games, the U.S. began its international dominance that includes a streak of eight consecutive gold medals. Italy had been at home through every major international competition since those Atlanta Games, while USA Basketball had been running through its competition, losing only once in the same span (at the 2006 World Championships).Italy coach Andrea Capobianco said his plan was to disrupt Team USA’s rhythm from the beginning, and his players executed it to a T. Italy’s physical defense and switching coverages made the U.S. look uncharacteristically uncomfortable and disjointed, even as Lawson cobbled together multiple lineups and personnel groups. The Americans shot 29 percent overall and a paltry eight percent on 3-pointers while missing eight free throws. Even harder to stomach, Team USA shot 10 of 35 in the paint, missing layups and high-percentage shots.“We got quality looks against their zone (defense) and against their man (defense), in the paint, exactly where we wanted,” Lawson said. “We just missed them. We missed layups. Hopefully moving forward, we can finish a few more.”