Here in Rio, the US has averaged 102.3 points, 23.8 points ahead of the next team, surprise quarterfinal victim Australia. Then again, they’ve had Sue Bird running the show for over a decade.
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Diana Taurasi had 18 points for the US while Maya Moore added 15.
All of this is to say that if Spain – who the United States has already beaten by 40 points in Rio – wins the gold medal, it’ll be the greatest upset in the history of the Olympics.
United States’ Sue Bird watches her team warm up before a semifinal round basketball game against France at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016.
“I understand it’s a gold medal game, we’ve approached it like any other game”, said Bird, who has helped the USA win the last three golds at the Olympics.
The U.S. will play Spain on Saturday for a shot at their sixth straight Olympic title.
Stevenson will secure either gold or silver for the US, something the country hasn’t accomplished since Andre Ward won gold in Athens.
As a coach, there can be a challenge in dealing with designing an offense around what are 12 of the 15 or 20 best players in the world. “This is going to be a great game between great teams and great players alike”.
When in doubt – and you don’t need to be US women’s basketball Geno Auriemma to call these plays – get the basketball to Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore.
The offense was choppy, especially in the first half, but the deep US squad had more than enough to advance to Saturday’s gold-medal game against Spain.
The US and Spain played in the preliminary round and the USA won that one by 40.
RIO DE JANEIRO – Leaning over, hands on her knees and cheering at every chance, injured US star Foluke Akinradewo could only watch. “She has got to be initiating it with one of them (Bird or Lindsay Whalen) out of the lineup”.
“I was panicking at halftime going, ‘Oh my God!'”, said McCoughtry.
The U.S. had cruised through its first six games, winning by almost 42 points a game and scoring at a record pace. Without Bird, the Americans looked discombobulated at times on offense against France. The 2016 team has averaged 105 points and 44.7 rebounds, while the 1996 team put up 102.4 points and 42.9 rebounds.
Dressed in a blue sweatsuit, Bird was anxious on the bench. “Not so hard. During the game, very hard”, Bird laughed. “Pretty hard”, she said of not being on the court. “We were just a little out of sorts and I feel like I can help in that department”. So it was hard. “But they did a great job”.
The U.S. led France 40-36 at halftime, pulling away with a 25-8 third quarter.
The third quarter turned out to be the difference. As the starters were about to take the court for the start of the second half, Bird huddled them up could be seen offering words of encouragement and instructions. Those shots gave Taurasi a record 28 3-pointers in the Olympics – the most ever in the tournament. During pregame warm-ups, she made a few passes to teammates in the layup line, and the other US players said she was vocal in the locker room at halftime, too, reminding them of little details, telling them not to worry that their four-point margin was so slim.
“You’re not going to be able to take someone like that out of the lineup and have it just continue to flow smoothly like it did the first six games”, said U.S. head coach Geno Auriemma. “But if I can play, I’m definitely playing”. The French cut the lead to 11 in the fourth, but could get no closer.
Also, the USA women’s 4×100-meter relay team stayed on track for a medal, getting through on their second chance after re-running their race on their own because Allyson Felix was bumped making a handover in the preliminaries. But it did get the win and now has 48 consecutive Olympic victories.
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The team moved one step closer on Thursday night by defeating France, 86-67, to advance to the gold-medal match.
