The result was as predictable as a tourist walking into one of the city’s notorious favelas flashing a fistful of hundred dollar bills with Senegal searching for their first Olympic win going up against the all-conquering USA, a true Olympic dynasty riding a 41-Games unbeaten run.
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Monday is a new day for their team though and they’ll need to put the United States loss behind them to get past China on Day 3.
Along with enormous skill, the USA also brings experience to Rio with nine of 12 players having already won gold medals, including co-captains Tamika Catchings, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, who have made it to the top of the podium three times.
Team USA will be back in action on Wednesday against Serbia, where tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m ET.
USA’s centre Brittney Griner (Top) goes to the basket despite Senegal’s point guard Fatou Dieng during a Women’s round Group B basketball match between United States of America and Senegal at the Youth Arena in Rio de Janeiro on August 7, 2016 during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
RIO DE JANEIRO – After erasing a two-point deficit in the first few minutes of the game to lead by 15 points after the first quarter, the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team (2-0) never again was challenged for control during a 103-63 win against Spain (1-1) on Monday afternoon at Deodoro Youth Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
From top to bottom this version of the American Olympic women’s basketball team is stacked with offensive weapons.
Venezuela’s John Cox, a cousin of American superstar Kobe Bryant, scored 19 points. Four other players scored at least eight points as Team USA shot 55 percent from the field.
While Delle Donne called her first Olympic game “fun”, Taurasi was much harder to please, insisting, “There are things we have to work on”.
Appearing in only their second Olympic Games, Senegal’s women’s basketball team opens their Rio tournament against the five-time defending Olympic champion USA women led by Diana Taurasi. The United States also broke their own record for most points in an Olympic game.
The three first-timers are Stewart, Delle Donne and Griner. Delle Donne added 11.
“That’s the one I really want”, the 6-foot-8 Griner said. “They have to have a really, really bad game for us to have a chance to win it”. The ideal way for this to start. “Anything that we can get from today is positive”. “The one thing that big kids fail to do sometimes, is they don’t see the value of keeping their hands up all the time”.
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Playing in her fourth Olympics, Bird started the second half with a steal and then raced down the court for the layup. So playing against the USA, who’s been here every Olympics and world champions and last Olympic gold medalists, what can you expect more?
