While Team USA basketball remains a brand that most more readily associate with men, the women half of gold-grabbing hoopsters is quietly compiling one of the most impressive resumes in the history of global team sports.
Advertisement
RIO DE JANEIRO – When a team brings the 2015 WNBA MVP (Ellena Delle Donne), a first-team 2015 All-WNBA performer (Angel McCoughtry) and the strong favorite to win 2016 WNBA rookie of the year (Breanna Stewart) off the bench, the other team is in trouble.
Team USA is 2-0 in group play and looks to avoid that upset and improve their record to 3-0 against Serbia on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. That person comes in and can do just as much offensively as the next.
“We wear them down, and they get exhausted, and then we bring in the next five, and then we bring in another five – a rested five”.
“We’re so deep and that’s one of our many strengths, and I kind of like” coming in off the bench, said the 6-foot-5 star, who is averaging 11.5 points.
Michelle Vittese and Caitlin van Sickle scored for the Americans, who defeated No. 2 Argentina 2-1 in their Olympic opener on Saturday.
The victory was the 43rd consecutive for the US women in the Olympics. The contest was a rematch of the 2014 world championship gold medal game that the Americans won by 13.
Coach Geno Auriemma experimented with different lineups trying to come up with a combination that could execute. While the United States of America had balanced scoring in the second period, including points from eight different players – led by six points from Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Spain made three 3-pointers in the quarter and had a total of nine offensive boards by halftime to keep the US from putting the game any further out of reach. “It’s fun to watch”.
They weren’t disappointed as the DE native finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
Should the US make a medal game, as they are expected to do, they would have six games remaining. “They can score. So it’s always a tough game against them”. “Anything that we can get from today is positive”.
Bird ensured there would be some tough lessons Spain could take away.
Playing in her fourth Olympics, Bird started the second half with a steal and then raced down the court for the layup. In Sunday’s win over Senegal, the crowd was behind the underdogs shouting down any American cheers.
Spanish fans had little to cheer about but a solid 20-point effort from from forward Alba Torrens, who spoke of the USA’s dominance after the game.
Spain missed the 2012 Olympics, but won the silver at the worlds. The Spaniards have never beaten the U.S.in a major competition, falling to 0-10 at the Olympics and world championships.
Advertisement
Taurasi, 206 points behind Leslie, would need to average over 34 points in a tournament in which the most points any USA player has scored in one game is 15 (Taurasi, Breanna Stewart and Sylvia Fowles against Senegal).
