For the 60th game in a row, the United States women’s basketball team was able to pick up a win. This time, it was a dominant, 85-64 win over Australia that put them on the verge of their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal. It was a nearly wire-to-wire win for the U.S., as they never trailed, never let the game be tied after it was 2-2 in the opening moments, and were able to get their lead up to as many as 30 points early in the fourth quarter.
As has been the case for the entire tournament, the 1-2 punch of Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson proved to be too much for their opponents. Stewart led the way for the Americans with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists on 6-for-12 shooting from the field, and while Wilson wasn’t as dominant of a scorer as we’ve gotten used to seeing during the Olympics, she still managed to impose her will on the game with 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting with eight boards, four blocks, two steals, and an assist.
The pair were deputized by a strong showing from Jackie Young, who had 14 points, five rebounds, and two steals, while Kahleah Copper came off the bench and gave the team 11 points, six boards, and three assists. Once again, the United States’ defense was stellar, as Australia — which put up 85 points in its quarterfinal matchup with Serbia — only shot 25-for-69 (36.2 percent) from the field and 7-for-29 (24.1 percent) from behind the three-point line.
The win locked up a spot in the championship game for the U.S., where they will be overwhelming favorites to come out on top regardless of who wins the semifinal matchup between France and Belgium — the Americans have not played the French in this tournament, while they went up against the Belgians during group play and won 87-74. Their opponent will be decided on Friday afternoon, while the gold medal will be on the line on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET.