PARIS — After the U.S. men’s basketball team came so close to a potential bronze medal game against Serbia in the semifinals, the U.S. women’s team didn’t let up against Australia on Friday. In an 85-64 win over the Opals, Team USA dominated early and repeatedly and punched its ticket to the gold medal game on Sunday.
The Opals, who have five starting WNBA players, have the WNBA’s top talent and are coached by New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, and should be one of Team USA’s toughest matchups in the Games. However, the game was never really in doubt.
The fact that such WNBA talent is on the opposite sideline makes Team USA’s performance – its best at the Olympics – all the more impressive. The team’s defensive performance – coach Sheryl Reeve’s calling card and her hope for the team’s identity in these Games – was more consistent than the previous four games. The Americans held Australia to just 64 points, their best defensive performance at the Olympics, but there’s more depth than basic numbers suggest.
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Team USA established its defensive advantage early on, blocking five shots in the first half alone (A’ja Wilson had four for the first half defensive stat line: four blocks, six defensive rebounds and four points). The team also had seven steals and eight forced turnovers in the first half alone.
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A’ja Wilson with her fourth block of the first half!
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From this defensive posture, the US team made the rest of the game less difficult for themselves, as the defensive pressure naturally helped the team enter the passing attack more and play without dead ball situations.
After starting Jackie Young in the quarterfinals, Reeve retained the same starting five — Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Nafeeza Collier, Chelsea Gray and Young — against Australia. Young, for the third time in as many games, was a big star on offense for Team USA and the most physical defensive perimeter player on the court. Overall, four players finished in double figures.
This story will be updated.
Compulsory reading
(Photo: Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
