Paris (AFP) – The United States powered past Australia 85-64 to reach the Olympic women’s basketball final on Friday, putting themselves one victory away from an unprecedented eighth straight gold. After their 60th consecutive Olympic game win, the United States will face either hosts France or European champions Belgium in Sunday’s final.
Two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player Breanna Stewart scored 16 points to lead four US players in double figures. “From start to finish, we were able to get the job done and get what we wanted,” Stewart said. “We were able to get stops and get out in transition and score the ball pretty well for the most part.” Jackie Young added 14 points and two steals, while two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots.
The US depth proved too much for a tough, talented Australian team, who lost top player Rebecca Allen to injury before the Games. The Americans leapt to a 12-4 lead before Australia found their rhythm to slice the deficit to 18-16. But a turnaround jump shot from Brittney Griner and a three-pointer from Kahleah Copper had the US racing away again. The United States led by as many as 21 before Tess Madgen’s three-pointer for Australia at the half-time buzzer sent the players into the break with the United States up 45-27.
With 3:09 left in the third, Young came up with a steal and raced the length of the court for a basket. Moments later, Stewart completed a three-point play, and the United States had a 23-point lead. The final quarter saw more of the same, with Copper pushing the US lead to 73-43 with a layup less than three minutes into the final period.
After they “kind of let some things slip away” in their 88-74 quarter-final win over Nigeria, Stewart said the US women were determined to “sharpen things up.” They also took the US men’s narrow escape against Serbia in their semi-final as a cautionary tale, making them determined to get all the details right against the Opals. “A lot of people look at the games and they look at the scores and they think it is not hard for us, but it is,” Griner said. “We are getting everybody’s best shot. It’s just when we are locked in like this, we’re really good and we’re really efficient.”
US coach Cheryl Reeve says her players are laser-focused on their Paris mission and not on the fact that a victory, and a 10th Olympic title overall, would see them go ahead of the US men’s basketball team, who won seven straight Olympic golds from 1936-68. During the women’s gold rush, launched at the 1996 Atlanta Games, the Australians won silver three times, in 2000, 2004, and 2008. If they can go on to bag bronze, it will be their first medal since finishing third in London in 2012.
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