Now 4-0 in group play, and winners of 45 straight Olympic games, the USAB Women’s National Team will look to remain undefeated in Rio as they take on China.
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That was the most damaging blow Team USA took on Sunday.
Tina Charles scored 12 of her 18 points in the first quarter, and the US easily wrapped up its 46th straight win in its quest for a sixth consecutive gold medal. That’s the way it’s been since 1992, with Team USA’s Olympic winning streak now covering 46 games heading into the knockout round.
Tina Charles and Brittney Griner were the biggest recipients of the US generosity, each scoring a game-high 18 points. They dished out 40 assists, a U.S. Olympic record, on 46 field goals.
The USA has been dominating the competition in Rio: Its closest game came against Canada in the only game when the American women failed to score more than 100 points.
Will Diana Taurasi Lead The Team In Scoring For The Fifth Straight Game? China had just three points through the game’s first seven minutes, and the suffocating USA led 32-9 after the first quarter and never looked back.
China was no match for the dominating US defense, which limited their shooting to 33.8 percent and forced 19 total turnovers. She previously set the mark for most threes by a USA women’s basketball player in the Olympics.
The U.S. did not play China in their few exhibition games leading up to the Olympics, but many players on the American squad are familiar with players on the Chinese roster.
There, they’ll likely meet Australia, bronze medalists in London in 2012 and silver medalists in the three preceding Summer Games. With China giving up the second most points per game of any team in the whole tournament, 80.8, the US should have plenty of opportunities to put the ball in the basket today.
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Until that matchup, though, the depth, defensive steel and pedal-to-the-medal fast-breaking attack of Team USA seems likely to continue overwhelming the opposition … and, as Delle Donne’s friendly-fire facial injury proves, even the other members of the squad.
