USA claimed the Olympic women’s basketball title for the seventh straight time, beating Japan 90-75 in the final.
In leading USA to their 55th consecutive win at the Olympic Games, veterans Sue Bird, 40, and Diana Taurasu, 39, became the first athletes to win five Olympic gold medals in a team sport.
“What can you say? It’s 20 years of sacrifice, of putting everything aside and just wanting to win,†said Taurasi, who scored seven points and added six rebounds and eight assists.
“It’s never easy playing on this team with the pressure, but this group found a way to win and I’m just happy this group got to enjoy it.â€
Using their size advantage, USA dominated inside on both ends of the court, outscoring Japan 58-40 on points in the paint and blocking 12 shots.
Brittney Griner was unstoppable with 30 points, while A’ja Wilson added 19.
Japan fought valiantly and reduced the margin from 25 points midway through the fourth quarter to 15 at the final siren, but they couldn’t conjure the magic of earlier games in their fairytale run to the medal rounds.
They never led, shot only 36% from the field and Machida Rui, who dished out a women’s Olympic record 18 assists in the semifinal win over France, was stunted with six assists and eight points.
Japan, a well-oiled machine but undone in the end by a wealth of talent, took a bow. Their first-ever medal in this sport, with Takada Maki leading the way on 17 points.
“Seven in a row, I mean that’s just amazing,” said Griner. “That just goes to show everything USA basketball’s about.”
She added: “Japan’s hard to guard. They can shoot it anywhere on the court. They’re a tough guard, they’re a really good team. I’m just glad we’ve got this gold.”
The USA have qualified for the 2023 World Cup in Sydney as well.
More follows
We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.
We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.
We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.
If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.
We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.
0 comments