The United States qualified for its eighth consecutive Olympic final in women’s basketball after beating Australia 85-64 in the semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Games this Friday.
Australia, bronze medalists at the World Cup two years earlier, had never faced a team as strong as the US (45 to 27 at halftime).
The seven-time consecutive Olympic champions, a team made up of the best in the WNBA, will compete for their eighth consecutive gold medal this Sunday at 4 p.m. (Brasilia time) against the winner of the duel between France and Belgium.
Not like America
Women of the @USBasketball Going for a historic 8th consecutive Olympic Gold Medal on Sunday!#parisolympics pic.twitter.com/lX7HXxal5T
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) 9 August 2024
This was the Americans’ 60th consecutive victory in the Olympic tournament. The last loss came on August 5, 1992, in the semifinal against the CIS (teams from the former republics of the Soviet Union in that edition of the Olympics in Barcelona).
After a slightly more difficult win over Nigeria in the quarter-finals (88 to 74) this Wednesday, the USA showed a more consistent game this Friday under the eyes of NBA star Kevin Durant, who will play the men’s final against France on Saturday.
Australia, which was pitted against Serbia (85 to 67) in the quarter-finals, only lasted one quarter this Friday (20 to 16).
In three minutes, they scored 10 points against 0 at the start of the second quarter, including three-pointers from Kahleh Copper, Sabrina Ionescu and Jewell Loyd.
As with the rest of the tournament, captains Breanna Stewart (16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) and A’ja Wilson (10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks) stood out for the United States.
With the win, 42-year-old star Diana Taurasi, who played only six minutes, moved closer to her sixth gold medal in six Olympic appearances – a record.
