For the 61st Olympic game in a row, the United States women’s basketball team picked up a win. And as a result, for the eighth Olympics in a row, the U.S. will leave the women’s hoops competition as gold medalists, although this did not come easy. Going up against France in Paris with a partisan crowd rooting against them, the Americans faced their stiffest test of these Olympics, but managed to pick up a thrilling, 67-66 win.
The story of the first half was the inability of the U.S. to get into a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. While the American defense was sensational over the game’s opening 20 minutes, holding the French to only 11-for-40 (27.5 percent) shooting from the field, they just could not stop turning the ball over on offense.
France forced a remarkable 13 turnovers by the United States, with each one energizing the already raucous crowd in Paris, and turned them into 12 points. It didn’t help that the Americans didn’t get going from the field, either, going 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) and missing all three of their tries from deep. And while they got 14 attempts from the free-throw line, they only made nine of them, and as a result, things were tied 25 at the break.
Right out of the break, France landed a haymaker. The team went on an 10-0 run to start the third quarter and put the United States in an unfamiliar position: One where they needed to mount a comeback. And fortunately for the U.S., they were able to do just that thanks to everyone filling their role perfectly over the remainder of the frame. Whether it was Kelsey Plum and Sabrina Ionescu providing some juice on offense, Napheesa Collier getting easy looks by cutting to the rim, A’ja Wilson completely shutting France down whenever they got into the paint, or Kahleah Copper doing a little bit of everything, Team USA went on a 20-8 run to end the period to take a two-point lead into the fourth.
France’s physicality continued to give the United States trouble in the fourth, a particularly big issue due to their struggles to get going offensively — for some reason, it just seemed like the U.S. could not finish at the rim despite their ability to consistently get looks in the paint. It was a remarkable quarter, one where the two teams spent the entire time within one possession of one another.
Every time the U.S. opened up the slightest bit of a lead down the stretch, France always had something to keep it from getting out of hand, even though they struggled mightily from three in the final period. The one they made, a Gabby Williams triple with five seconds left, made it a one-point game, and while Copper nailed both free throws, France had one final shot. It went to Williams, who banked in a prayer as time expired, but her foot was well on the line. Because of this, instead of being on the other end of an all-time shot that forced overtime, the United States are able to call themselves gold medalists once again.
While Wilson struggled to get going from the field, her 21 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks led the United States, while Copper had 10 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter to go along with five rebounds, a steal, and an assist. Plum chipped in 12 points and four assists off the bench. It was a rock fight of the highest order, as the U.S. shot 19-for-56 (33.9 percent) from the field and 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) from three, while France was 23-for-73 (31.5 percent) from the field and 7-for-36 (19.4 percent) from three. Ultimately, France’s inability to keep the U.S. off the free throw line was the different, as they went 27-for-34 from the charity stripe.