Team USA won their eighth-straight gold medal Sunday with a hard-fought 67-66 win over France.
With a gold medal in Paris, the USA Women’s National Team claimed the longest Olympic gold medal streak in a traditional team sport, passing the USA Basketball Men’s National Team, who won seven straight gold medals from 1936-1968.
It was a back-and-forth affair, but the Americans were able to claim gold thanks to a balanced effort from both the starters and the bench players.
A’ja Wilson led her team with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks, and Kahleah Copper came up huge off the bench with 12 points. She scored 10 in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory.
The fourth quarter was a battle. USA and France traded buckets throughout, and neither team led by more than one possession until the final minute. The last sequences defined the game began when Wilson hit a jumper that bounced off the top of the backboard and into the basket to put Team USA up 58-55 with 3:11 left. Gabby Williams, who finished with 19 points, then answered with two free throws.
Copper scored on a driving layup to put the USA up three with 1:19 left in the game. A minute later, Breanna Stewart blocked a 3-point attempt from France with 17.4 seconds left. Wilson made a free throw on the other end to put USA up 63-59. The teams then traded free throws back and forth before Copper’s final two points at the line clinched a victory for the Americans.
The first quarter was a defensive battle, as both teams struggled to make shots. The U.S. shot 27% from the field but made up for it with a 7-of-10 effort from the free-throw line. France shot 20% from the field and did not attempt a free throw.
“That was a great game, a great French team, a great crowd, but we found a way to win,” said Diana Taurasi, who won her sixth gold medal. “That’s what these games come down to, is finding a way to win. You think it’s going to be pretty, and every shot is going to go in, but the will to win is sometimes the only thing you need.”
Stewart started the game with a turnaround jumper, and Wilson scored on a layup for a 4-0 lead. Williams answered with a 3-pointer for France, followed by a tough drive to the lane that gave her team a 5-4 lead with 6:28 left in the first quarter.
The red, white, and blue took a five-point lead on two Kelsey Plum free throws with 2:22 left in the first quarter. After Marine Johannes hit a 2-point fadeaway, Brittney Griner scored on back-to-back possessions to give the United States a 15-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
Copper opened the second frame with a layup, but France answered with a 9-0 run, cutting Team USA’s lead down to 19-18. Wilson then stopped the run with a free-throw.
Wilson scored on a fadeaway with 3:14, but Marine Fauthoux answered with a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 23. The teams went scoreless for the next two minutes before Janelle Salaun made a jumper to give France a 25-23 advantage. Then, Napheesa Collier tipped in a miss from Wilson to tie things at 25 heading into halftime.
France forced 13 USA turnovers in the first half, which led to 12 points on the other end. Throughout the Olympics, the United States averaged 14.8 turnovers per game.
Williams led all scorers at halftime with eight points, while Wilson and Stewart had six and five, respectively.
France opened the second half with a 10-0 run before Plum answered with a 3-pointer. Wilson then scored on a layup to cut the French lead down to five. Another Plum 3 made it eight-straight USA points to bring the deficit to two, 33-35.
“I think something that was kind of impressive was that I don’t think any of us were startled, and we didn’t lose any composure,” Sabrina Ionescu said. “We kind of just stuck with it. We were playing a really good French team in France, so we knew they were going to have the crowd, and everyone behind them. We understood that we had to chip away and just make the easy play.”
After Leila Lacan made a layup with 4:46 left in the quarter to give France a 5-point lead, The Americans answered. Wilson made two free throws and then blocked a shot, which led to her scoring a layup on the other end.
The USA took their first lead of the third quarter with 2:31 left on a Collier layup. The Americans ended the quarter on a 20-8 run to regain the lead, 45-43.
France and the United States traded points throughout the fourth quarter before Copper clinched the game with two free throws with 3 seconds left.
Game story courtesy of USA Basketball
