America outscored Spain 29-12 in the final quarter to put a cap on the 40-point blowout.
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Elena Delle Donne attempts a shot against Spain in the women’s basketball game at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Youth Arena on August 8, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
In their Olympic debuts, Brittney Griner and Elena Delle Donne each made an impact.
Another game, another rout for the US women’s basketball team.
Delle Donne and Team USA moved to 2-0 in preliminary round play Monday by trouncing Spain 103-63.
Sue Bird wouldn’t let Spain get any closer. It’s a point guard’s dream.
With both teams sporting that narrative as of right now, this matchup on Tuesday between and Australia and France should be massive and could help shape the medal picture for the competition.
Diana Taurasi also remained hot from deep, connecting on two in the first half just one day after tying her U.S. Olympic record of five. “And the minute you stop there’s no let-off”. That person comes in and can do just as much offensively as the next. I mean every single person. I said, Look, if I know Im not ready and the knees swelling up, Im pulling the pin. “But we don’t relax regardless”.
“Weapons. We’re full of weapons”.
“We definitely have depth one through 12”, Fowles said. “And that’s offensively, defensively as well”.
In the second quarter, the Spanish were able to stay in the game with three-point shooting, going 6-for-9 from three-point range.
Spain shot just 35 percent from the field for the game and turned the ball over 23 times. “As a team, we’re so selfless”.
Back home in America, the team’s win is serving as an inspiration to young girls everywhere.
The victory was the 43rd consecutive for the U.S.in the Olympics.
In the second half, Spain’s shooters cooled down and the US pulled away, outscoring Spain 20-14 in the third quarter and widening the gap even further in the fourth. The Spaniards couldn’t get within single digits the rest of the way.
“We’re not easy to deal with obviously”, said USA coach Geno Auriemma. “It’s fun to watch”.
“For the little time we’ve had together, we do a lot of really nice things out there, which is nice to see”. Those twelve points more than doubled the five points that Senegal had in the entire first quarter.
Coming into these games, she was in fifth place, 20 points behind Sheryl Swoopes for second place.
“It was going to be a tough game”, Romero said. But they were still impressive. “Anything that we can get from today is positive”.
Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury) led the way for the United States of America in the first quarter with eight points and a defensive presence that frustrated Spain’s shooters.
The Americans were not expected to be challenged on Sunday by Senegal, and the only real suspense was how many records they would set. This time they wouldn’t be drowned out.
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Alba Torrens was the leading scorer for Spain with 20 points. Nigeria is still the only African country to win an Olympic contest, getting a victory in 2004. So playing against the USA, who’s been here every Olympics and world champions and last Olympic gold medalists, what can you expect more?
