When Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young scored a team-high 19 points on Sunday to lead the USA women’s Olympic basketball squad to a 87-68 win over Germany, it marked the 58th consecutive victory for a program that has been peerless for the past 28 years. Team USA’s last loss in the Olympics going into yesterday’s quarterfinals match up versus Nigeria was in 1992. They faced Nigeria seeking to continue their quest for an eighth straight gold medal and 10th since the inception of women’s Olympic basketball in 1976. Team USA won in dramatic fashion 88-74, continuing their journey towards gold.
Nigeria also achieved a historical milestone, becoming the first African national team, men or women, to earn a spot in the Olympic basketball quarterfinals. Australia, one of the USA’s longtime chief rivals coached by New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello, also advanced to the quarterfinals.
Fairleigh Dickinson University women’s head basketball coach Stephanie Gaitley said the depth of talent on the U.S. women’s team is daunting for any opponent.
“Between A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart in size, and obviously Alyssa Thomas is an incredible passer, if they get the three-point game going along with the inside game, I think they’re untouchable,” she said.
Before taking on Nigeria, the U.S. had not shot well from behind the three-point line but still dominated their opponents, opening pool play with a 102-76 win over Japan, then defeating Belgium 87-74 ahead of dismissing Germany 87-68. Aces center A’ja Wilson, the 2020 and 2022 WNBA MVP, and Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, the reigning WNBA MVP, have been the driving forces behind Team USA. Wilson notched 24 points and 13 rebounds versus Japan, while Stewart added 22 and 8. The duo combined for 49 points and 21 rebounds against Belgium, with Wilson posting 26 and 13.
As the 5×5 basketball tournament still has the semifinals and finals to play, the 3×3 competition wrapped up on Monday with the U.S. team earning the bronze medal. After losing their first three games, the team of Rhyne Howard, Dearica Hamby, Cierra Burdick, and Hailey Van Lith powered their way to the semifinals, where they lost to Spain. They fought their way on the medal podium with a win over Canada.
Gaitley describes 3×3 as a great way to look at the game. “I actually really like it because it forces you to work on a lot of things in the halfcourt game,” she said. Gaitley sometimes has her players play 3×3 in practices. “Cameron Brink (named to the team but suffered a torn ACL) getting hurt obviously set them back. They had to get used to a new lineup and that probably took them a little bit of time, but they found themselves at the right time.”
