The 2016 Unite States Olympic Women’s Basketball Team (2-0) defeated Spain (1-1) 103-63 on Monday afternoon at Deodoro Youth Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
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Next up for the Americans will be Spain on Monday. Team USA will look to continue annihilating the field as they take on Serbia on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET. You’re talking about 100 points – you’ve got to be able to score.
The 65-point victory margin surpassed the prior U.S. mark from a 107-47 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo set at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. All but one of the Americans scored with five players notching double digits. On the other end, the combined length, foot speed and versatility of the American defenders impeded Spain’s passing lanes, choked off their options and stifled their attempts to score on the interior, resulting in 23 Spanish turnovers and woeful 16-for-51 shooting inside the arc for Lucas Mondelo’s club.
Taurasi led the United States with 13 points while Breanna Stewart and Bird followed close behind with nine. It’s often said that the only competitor in sports that’s undefeated is Father Time, but it appears Bird is set on taking him to seven games.
“Real unselfish basketball”, Brittney Griner said in a television interview after the game.
Looking to win a sixth consecutive Olympic gold medal, the United States women’s basketball team got off to a good start with a record-breaking 121-56 win over Senegal Sunday morning.
Spain stole the lead with seven minutes to go in the first quarter, but the momentum quickly shifted after Elena Delle Donne connected on her first bucket halfway through quarter one. That’s the last time the US lost a game in a major tournament. The Phoenix Mercury guard finished the game with 15 points, three assists and two rebounds. It’s fun. It’s fun to watch.
Hernandez pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the Olympics’ first three days with a unanimous decision over Egorov, the European champion and runner-up at last year’s world championships. They changed the pace of the game, something that they did back when we played them in the USA but it was a different pace of the game that they played with tonight.
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.
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Canada’s women rallied from an eight-point half-time deficit to defeat Serbia behind 25 points from Kia Nurse. Nigeria is still the only African country to win an Olympic contest, getting a victory in 2004.
