Team USA is set to clash with Spain in Group B action live from Rio de Janeiro as part of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
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The United States kicked off their latest quest for an Olympic gold medal with a record-setting thrashing of Senegal. China vs Senegal will start at 6:45 p.m. on NBC Olympics.
The U.S. women’s basketball team, which trounced Senegal 121-56 in Sunday’s opener in Rio, will play with a team-first attitude in pursuit of a sixth straight gold.
Despite the vocal support, the only real suspense Sunday was how many records the US team would break.
Five players on the national team and head coach Geno Auriemma have ties to the University of CT where the women’s game has strong support.
“We’re not easy to deal with obviously”, said USA coach Geno Auriemma.
Well, maybe not for everyone. Senegal got a boost as local fans embraced the underdog, cheering every shot. The Spaniards have never beaten the U.S.in a major competition, falling to 0-10 at the Olympics and world championships.
“We’re just excited to finally get to play”, Auriemma said. “And it was in Brazil again and we lost that game, and the entire place was chanting Russian Federation”.
“I mean, how many times have I heard this question? We’re used to that”.
After Spain made free throws with 2:59 left in the first quarter, the US advantage was 19-14, but the red, white and blue closed with 3s from Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) and Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) and four points fromSylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx), which put the Americans up 29-14 at the first quarter break.
Brittney Griner would love to be the second woman to dunk in the Olympics, though it’s not the piece of history she really hopes to get. And if we can elevate the play, if people strive to play that way, and we can elevate the play of the entire world, then what’s better than that for basketball?
Kevin Durant scored 16 points and Carmelo Anthony 14 for the USA squad, which may have grown a touch overconfident following a 57-point blowout of China in its tournament opener.
On cruise control from the opening tipoff, the US never felt the need to shift into top gear, speeding to a 35-9 lead in the opening quarter and pulling away.
The victory was the 43rd consecutive for the US (2-0) in the Olympics. The womens performance came less than 24 hours after the mens team opened with a 57-point rout of China. Griner holds the mark for most dunk in NCAA women’s basketball history as well as the WNBA. I know the score is, it is what it is. Brittney Griner has been spectacular, Elena Delle Donne has been impressive in her debut and Diana Taurasi is scoring easily. Brittney Griner chipped in 14 points and 7 rebounds.
The 65-point win was the largest margin of victory in the Olympics, besting a 60-point win over Zaire in 1996 in Atlanta, and was also the most points scored in a game by a U.S. Women’s Olympic Team. Stewart also had two on a nifty alley-oop layup from Bird. Maya Moore was especially ferocious for the Red, White and Blue, nabbing three steals to add to her 9 points and 4 rebounds. “If you ask the players, they wouldn’t mind playing every day”. “It didn’t look at all like there was any sign of nervousness, or tentativeness or deferring to the other players”. The ideal way for this to start. Senegal lost all six of its games in 2000. Nigeria is the only African country to win an Olympic contest, getting a victory in 2004.
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Red, white and blase for one quarter, the U.S. Olympic team woke up and won easily. “We all just want to win”. For as little time as we had together, we do a lot of really nice things out there which is nice to see..
