Bryan Armen Graham has the report from Bercy Arena:
And now, the saddest part of any four-year cycle – the longest wait until the next Summer Olympic event.
Thanks for following this game and everything else in these Olympics. See you in Los Angeles.
The Guardian’s medal count has just had its final update (pending whatever happens with Jordan Chiles’ bronze). It will show the USA in first place. Barely. This is the USA’s 40th gold medal in France, tied with China. But the USA had 44 silver medals to China’s 27.
“I’m so proud of the resilience my team showed,” says A’ja Wilson.
They were down 10 in the third quarter. After they turned the tide, France raised their game, and the fourth quarter was an instant classic.
It’s the US-born Williams who inspired France throughout this game. She had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
A’ja Wilson is the player who saved the USA here, with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Kahleah Copper was everywhere in the second half and ended up with 12 points and 5 huge rebounds. Kelsey Plum had 12 points and 4 assists.
USA win women's basketball gold and overall gold-medal count in Paris
Exhale.
France race up the court – Williams hits a shot, BUT SHE WAS INSIDE THE ARC!!
What a dreadful mistake by Williams! The officials discuss it, but her foot was clearly on the line.
It’s over!
3.8 ticks left. Copper hits first. And the second. France will need a 3 to force OT.
Stewart gets the ball inbounds to Copper. Williams immediately fouls.
USA 65-64 France, 0:05 left, 4th quarter: Two biggest free throws of Kelsey Plum’s life.
Makes the first. Makes the second.
France race down, and Williams hits a huge 3!
USA 63-61 France, 0:11 left, 4th quarter: Copper fouls Johannes. Can’t do that. France can score with the clock stopped, and Johannes indeed hits the first free throw. And the second.
USA inbound, which has been difficult, but they get it to Plum, and Williams fouls.
USA 63-59 France, 0:17 left, 4th quarter: Wilson misses the first but hits the second. Two-possession game. Timeout France.
USA 62-59 France, 0:17 left, 4th quarter: Fauthoux fakes a shot, Stewart bites and goes in the air, Fauthoux puts up the shot BUT STEWART RECOVERS TO DEFLECT THE SHOT!
Wilson rebound. Fouled. To the line.
USA 62-59 France, 0:41 left, 4th quarter: Can the USA make it a two-possession game in the final minute?
Not yet. Wilson travels under intense French pressure.
USA 62-59 France, 0:54 left, 4th quarter: Williams with an airball from 3-point range. Timeout France.
Updated
USA 62-59 France, 1:19 left, 4th quarter: Copper, who has been huge in the second half, scores on a strong drive.
USA 60-59 France, 1:32 left, 4th quarter: Copper misses a drive. Stewart rebound. Plum puts up a 3 with plenty of time on the shot clock. Why? Misses.
Williams hits a long 2. Timeout USA – that’s their last!
USA 60-57 France, 2:08 left, 4th quarter: Williams sinks both free throws. USA by 1.
Plum drives and draws the foul from Fauthoux. Solid play. Hits the free throws. USA by 3.
Johannes turns it over, losing her dribble and sending the ball out of bounds. This is the USA’s chance.
USA 58-55 France, 2:34 left, 4th quarter: Stewart hits one free throw but misses the second.
Salaun misses a 3 despite a good screen. Out of bounds, USA ball? Really?
Fortunate call, and Wilson’s jumper from the free-throw line hits the rim, bounces up, hits the top of the backboard, and falls back through.
Lucky sequence there for the USA. They follow up with good defense, but Stewart gets tied up on a rebound. Alternating possession to France.
Young fouls Williams with a hand to the face far away the ball. That’s five. Young is out.
Updated
USA 55-55 France, 3:45 left, 4th quarter: Ayayi misses, but Williams has the rebound. Misses, Stewart gets it, and Copper puts it in for the lead!
Williams drives at the other end and ties it!
Ayayi fouls Stewart, and the USA will call timeout.
This has turned into a terrific game. France took their 10-point lead on poor US play, but since the US rallied, France have raised their game.
USA 53-53 France, 4:35 left, 4th quarter: Ayayi picks Ionescu’s pocket. France can’t convert offensively.
Copper with a big rebound. Drives, draws a foul. Hits the free throws.
USA 51-53 France, 5:04 left, 4th quarter: Ionescu fouls Fauthoux with a little bump on the 3-point line. France is in the bonus and gets free throws. She makes both. France by 2.
USA 51-51 France, 5:15 left, 4th quarter: Ayayi feeds inside to Badiane, who makes a nice post move and restores the lead.
Wilson works against Badiane at the other end and draws a foul.
Breanna Stewart back in, as is Young, who has four fouls. You only get five. Badiane also has four.
Wilson ties it with two free throws.
USA 49-49 France, 5:54 left, 4th quarter: Miss for France, and two US players mistime their jumps for the rebound. France keep possession.
Collier allegedly fouls Ayayi. Replay says otherwise. That’s at least one missed call each way.
Ayayi hits both free throws.
Plum misses a long 3, and four US players miss a chance to get the rebound. They end up kicking it, and it’s a turnover.
USA 49-47 France, 6:40 left, 4th quarter: Copper draws a foul inside and hits both free throws. One of the least-known players on this team, Copper has had an impact here.
Badiane draws a foul driving against Wilson. She sinks both free throws. Tied again.
Plum is back in. Has Chelsea Gray played this half? Where’s Griner?
Collier travels. Ayayi misses a wide-open corner 3, and Collier gets the rebound. Collier posts up at the other end and draws a foul on a mismatch.
Wilson hits over a double-team.
USA 45-45 France, 8:01 left, 4th quarter: More good US defense, and Johannes flings up an airball.
Young misses another easy one inside and commits her third foul.
Johannes steps out of bounds with the ball under pressure.
Copper misses, and Young again commits a foul battling for the rebound. That’s four.
Badiane ties it.
In soccer terms, A’ja Wilson was Mallory Swanson and Alyssa Naeher wrapped into one in that quarter.
End 3rd quarter: USA 45-43 France
Bad miss for Ionescu, but Wilson hits the offensive glass again and draws a foul. Both free throws made. What a run for the US star.
Five seconds left, Johannes has to heave from midcourt.
Have the USA weathered the storm?
USA 43-43 France, 0:25 left, 3rd quarter: Wilson blocks a third shot in quick succession, but Young turns it over and fouls.
Johannes misses a tough jumper while falling. Copper gets the rebound. Rupert fouls her near midfield.
Another Ionescu assist, and it’s a beauty, finding Collier just as she springs free inside.
Other end, Badiane loses it, and Ionescu collects.
Long possession, and Collier misses a 3.
Turnover France.
Plum misses a turnaround jumper, France race the other way, and Johannes calmly drains a 3 over Wilson.
USA 41-40 France, 2:31 left, 3rd quarter: It’s all Wilson now. Double-teamed in the post, scores anyway.
Rupert misses a 3, and the rebound goes to … Wilson.
Ionescu takes it and finds Collier wide open for the drive, and the USA reclaim the lead.
USA 37-40 France, 3:16 left, 3rd quarter: Wilson with a massive block on Badiane.
Young misses, but Wilson has the rebound and draws a foul from Williams, who has been remarkably quiet during France’s run in this quarter.
Wilson hits two free throws.
And Wilson keeps up her good run at the other end, blocking a Lacan shot with emphasis. Johannes fouls Young in transition.
USA 35-40 France, 4:06 left, 3rd quarter: Young misses a 3, but Copper gets the offensive rebound and Stewart hits a tough drive.
Lacan beats everyone backdoor and scores.
Plum throws it out of bounds.
Sabrina Ionescu finally comes in.
USA 33-38 France, 5:19 left, 3rd quarter: Misses at either end.
Young dishes to Plum for a 3 – shades of the 3x3 in Tokyo!
Johannes is shaken up back at the other end, and the crowd wanted a foul on Wilson. Replay shows … ouch, yeah.
Lacan drives, scores and draws a foul from Plum. Hits the free throw.
Would this be a good time to point out that France gave up a 22-0 run against Belgium in the semi-final?
USA 30-35 France, 5:59 left, 3rd quarter: Badiane steals a Plum pass. Wilson fouls Badiane on a drive. France will go to the line to take a 10-point lead.
Badiane hits both.
The USA can barely get the ball inbounds. Copper tries a low-percentage drive, but France bail them out with a turnover.
PLUM WITH A CORNER 3. The French run ends at 10.
Ayayi tries to drive on Stewart. Plum gets the rebound and feeds Wilson in transition. Lead is cut in half.
US steal. Copper off to the races and is fouled.
Timeout France.
If Diana Taurasi was on this roster as a steadying influence, then why isn’t she coming in to steady things? If she wasn’t here as a steadying influence, why was she on the roster instead of Caitlin Clark?
(The answer is because Clark leads the WNBA by a wide margin in turnovers, but …)
USA 25-33 France, 7:52 left, 3rd quarter: Plum replaces Gray. Still no Loyd or Ionescu.
Ayayi hits a 3. EIGHT-POINT LEAD FOR FRANCE.
Timeout USA.
USA 25-30 France, 8:22 left, 3rd quarter: Ayayi opens with a fallaway jumper. France lead.
Good pass zipped into Wilson, but she misses clumsily inside.
Again, the USA force France to run down the shot clock, and Williams has to force a shot. But again, France get the ball, and Fauthoux hits a 3. FIVE-POINT LEAD for France.
Young misses inside. Collier can’t get the putback to go.
And we’re back …
Meanwhile, China await the prospect of leading the final gold-medal tally. Reminder: It’s 40-39, and this is the last event.
Interview at the half with assistant coach Kara Lawson (OK, second shoutout for Duke, where she’s the head coach). She says they’re turning over the ball too much.
High school coaches around the country must be furious. We’re seeing fundamental mistakes. Collecting the ball cleanly. Boxing out. Making crisp passes. Shot selection.
And we have questions for the coaches. What was said in the timeouts? Why are Sabrina Ionescu and Jewell Loyd glued to the bench?
Certainly, France deserve a lot of credit here. Williams looks every bit the international superstar. The guards are pressuring the US backcourt and occasionally driving past slow-footed US post players for layups.
But there’s no getting around it – that might be the worst half of basketball these US players have played on the international stage. They have 13 turnovers. While they have the edge in rebounding, they’ve let the ball slip away at crucial times, and France have 10 offensive boards.
Credit the US defense with forcing France into bad shots and a 28% figure from the field. But the USA only have 8 field goals, none on 3-pointers.
It’s unreal to talk about how the USA is staying in a game they were expected to dominate, but they’re doing just that because France’s frenetic pressure has led them to a lot of fouls – 11 to the USA’s 2. The USA have hit 9 of 14 free throws.
Williams leads all scorers with 8.
On NBC, Lisa Leslie wants to see Diana Taurasi come in and shoot some 3s. That won’t make US fans forget their tirades on behalf of Caitlin Clark on this roster.
Halftime: USA 25-25 France
Young misses a poor floater in the lane.
Wilson blocks a shot inside.
Other end – Wilson misses on a drive. Gets her rebound. Misses again. Plum knocks it out off a French player to get possession.
Wilson drives and misses, but Collier tips it in at the buzzer.
We’re tied at halftime.
USA 23-25 France, 1:02 left, 2nd quarter: Gray faces pressure as she brings up the ball, and she tosses a simple bounce pass well wide of the mark.
Young steals from Williams.
Wilson drives. Stolen. Reclaimed.
Gray tries a long 2 and misses badly. France will get possession, and Plum replaces Gray.
Salaun has to force a 3 as the shot clock runs down again.
Wilson drives and rushes a layup. Miss.
Collier ends up with nasty foul on Salaun.
We go the other way, and Salaun gives France the lead.
USA 23-23 France, 2:47 left, 2nd quarter: There’s a good play from Stewart, picking off a pass. In transition, she takes a feed from Gray in the lane and draws a foul.
She misses the first. Makes the second.
Fauthoux misses a drive, and finally, the USA get a defensive rebound – Wilson collects cleanly. She gets it at the other end and neatly scores in the paint.
Shot clock runs down, Fauthoux has to launch from the midcourt logo a la Caitlin Clark – and hits, even with Chelsea Gray right there on her!
Timeout USA.
Do you believe in miracles?!
USA 20-20 France, 4:06 left, 2nd quarter: Make it 1-for-6. Stewart is way off on a 3-point attempt.
Ayayi posts up, turns, and hits. We’re tied!
Breanna Stewart is 1-for-5. Wilson is 1-for-4.
USA 20-18 France, 4:44 left, 2nd quarter: Wilson misses the first, hits the second.
France can take the lead with a 3. Chery tries but misses.
Lazy rebounding again!
Chery tries again. Misses.
Turnover again as Williams steals. Misses.
This is shocking from the USA. Simply not moving on rebounds and throwing the ball away far too easily.
Timeout France, and the US coaching staff should be on the verge of exploding.
USA 19-18 France, 5:38 left, 2nd quarter: Young hits a baseline jumper, clanking on the rim but falling through. Malonga with the pick-and-roll but can’t finish!
Michel picks off a bad pass from Gray. That’s 11 US turnovers.
Chery pivots beautifully inside and scores.
Wilson works inside against Malonga to draw a foul. Malonga goes back out.
USA 17-16 France, 6:56 left, 2nd quarter: Oh, Malonga should’ve had that in transition! That would’ve cut it to two.
Or how about one, as the USA turn it over again, then fail to get a rebound again. Malonga dishes out to Williams, who hits the 3.
USA 17-13 France, 7:28 left, 2nd quarter: Misses at either end, then Kahleah Copper finds a massive hole in the French defense and drives for the layup.
Johannes rushes a 3. Michel takes the ball away off some lackadaisical US rebounding. Another offensive rebound, and Michel scores.
Plum misses, and Lacan drives past Griner to score.
Dominique Malonga will come in! Very tall players going head to head with her and Griner.
So not exactly the highest-scoring quarter of basketball. France hit just 4 of 21 shots, 1 of 9 from behind the arc. The USA built their edge at the free throw line with 7 of 10 shots despite only 4 field goals, none of them 3s.
The USA have a 17-9 rebounding edge and have 6 assists to France’s 0. But the USA have 7 turnovers.
End 1st quarter: USA 15-9 France
Johannes scores a runner in the lane.
The 35-year-old Sarah Michel gets a block inside!
Rupert is all alone inside – for a second. Then four US defenders swarm and steal.
Other end – Rupert fouls Thomas.
In comes Brittney Griner, who has been through some horrors since the last Olympics.
Thomas makes one of two. Collier gets the offensive rebound, but Thomas turns it over.
Johannes races past Griner for the layup – quite a spark she has given France here.
Plum drives, hands off to Griner, who scores with a nice post move.
Johannes fires off a 3 but misses.
Inside to Griner again. France isn’t stopping her. Two more points.
France hold for final shot of the quarter. Missed.
USA 10-5 France, 2:22 left, 1st quarter: Bernies picks up her third foul. The crowd argue. Not sure why. That was obvious.
Plum makes two free throws, and at last, there’s daylight for the USA.
USA 8-5 France, 2:56 left, 1st quarter: Wilson’s first free throw barely draws the front of the rim. The second is good.
Johannes misses. Williams steals an errant pass by the erratic Stewart and barely misses at the other end.
Plum feeds Collier in transition, and she’s fouled.
Stewart needs to take a seat. This is an atrocious start for the US star. And indeed, Alyssa Thomas comes in.
Collier makes one of two free throws.
USA 6-5 France, 3:43 left, 1st quarter: Williams strips the ball away. They try to feed the ball inside, where Chelsea Gray has somehow been stuck guarding the taller Ayayi in the post. Gray fouls.
Ayayi commits her second foul, and Rupert dashes in to replace her.
Stewart goes to the line on another French foul and hits two free throws.
Williams misses a 3, but the rebound is tied up. Possession France.
Johannes misses, Stewart drives, but Badiane blocks her layup!
Plum replaces Gray. Wilson misses, gets her rebounds, misses again.
Johannes misses long. USA with sloppy rebounding, but Stewart blocks a shot inside.
Shot clock runs down, but AGAIN, France (Williams this time) get the rebound.
Extremely sloppy from the USA so far.
USA 4-5 France, 6:20 left, 1st quarter: They’re playing the song Just My Type during a brief break.
Steal for France, but Ayayi misses a wild layup. It’s as if the French game plan is to just fling the ball up and see if anything falls.
France already rotating players in. Here comes Marine Johannes.
Williams drives and scores! France lead!
USA 4-3 France, 7:04 left, 1st quarter: Kind of a rough start for Stewart. She carelessly picks up her foot and is called for traveling.
Williams hits a 3 to put France on the board.
USA 4-0 France, 7:52 left, 1st quarter: One miss each way, denying France the opportunity to take a lead, and Gray feeds Stewart for the first points of the game.
Williams is forcing things on the French end.
Stewart misses in transition. But after another steal, Gray threads a perfect pass to Wilson for the layup.
Tipoff: USA control.
With a rousing rendition of the French national anthem and a lot of hugs between the teams, we’re ready for tipoff …
What's at stake - beyond basketball
The current tally of gold medals:
China: 40
USA: 39
For those who insist that countries should be ranked by gold medals rather than total medals or a weighting system, the tiebreaker is total medals, and unless the USA have to surrender 36 silver or bronze medals, they’ll win that count handily.
So if you’re concerned with the top of the medal table, it’s all up to the US women today, in the last event of the Games, to claim that spot for the USA.
(With massive thanks to Jennifer Valente for her track cycling win today, the USA’s 39th gold.)
Scouting report: USA
They’re the USA. What else do you need to know?
Those of us of a certain age remember when beating the Soviet Union was a big, big deal. But the USA still took gold in 1988 in addition to the boycotted Games of 1984. After taking bronze in 1992, losing to the Soviet remnants on the “Unified Team” in the semifinals, then taking bronze in the 1994 World Cup after a 110-107 loss to Brazil, the US women have won seven straight Olympic golds and six of the last seven World Cups. Their only loss in Olympic or World Cup competition was in the 2006 World Cup semifinal against Russia.
Four players from the mighty Las Vegas Aces are on the team – A’ja Wilson, point guard Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum, . Wilson was the top pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. Gray was held back by injuries at Duke (gratuitous mention of my alma mater, the only one I’ll make), but she emerged as a WNBA star, she and Wilson were both on the gold medal squad in Tokyo. Young and Plum won gold in Tokyo on the 3x3 squad.
Before Caitlin Clark captured the public’s imagination, the young phenom in women’s basketball was Sabrina Ionescu, whose dazzling career at the University of Oregon made her the top pick in 2020.
Wilson is the team’s top scorer in France at 18.2 points per game, closely followed by Breanna Stewart at 18.0. Young has added 11.0. Wilson also leads the team in rebounds (9.6) and blocks (2.4), while Gray has 5.4 assists per game while playing less than 15 minutes per game.
The captain was a controversial addition to the team – Diana Taurasi, one of the game’s all-time greats but not a strong contributor at age 42.
In Paris, the US women have won comfortably but not overwhelmingly. Belgium, which bungled clock management down the stretch to lose the bronze-medal game to Australia earlier today, was tied with the USA after the first quarter but lost 87-74. Nigeria stayed somewhat close in the first half, fell far behind, then rallied to cut the final margin to 14.
Scouting report: France
Never a powerhouse in the 20th century and the 2000s, France have reached the semifinals for the fourth straight Olympics, taking silver in 2012 and bronze in Tokyo.
None of the team’s players are in the WNBA, but four of the team’s core players have been in the US league in the past.
Women’s basketball players tend to hop back and forth between the WNBA and European or Asian leagues to maximize their earning potential, so deciding to skip a WNBA season in an Olympic year isn’t unusual.
Gabby Williams, from Nevada originally, played for UConn and was the fourth overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. She has spent five years in the WNBA and leads the French team in Paris in points per game (14.8) and minutes (26:03). Marine Johannes, who grew up in France and came across the Atlantic to spend some time with the New York Liberty, is the only other player in double figures, averaging 12.2. Johannes was the 2023 EuroCup MVP.
As with the French men’s team, the French women’s team has no shortage of centers.
Marieme Badiane (6-foot-3, no WNBA experience) is the leading rebounder with 5.6. Ilana Rupert (6-4) was the 12th pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft and won a championship with Las Vegas. The tallest (6-6) and youngest player is Cameroon-born Dominique Malonga, who has played sparingly at age 18 but maybe someone to watch in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Badiane and Valeriane Ayayi, who once played for San Antonio, are averaging roughly one and a half blocks per game.
The captain is 35-year-old Sarah Michel.
Preamble
Will we see the Games end with the continuation of several of the Olympics’ most impressive streaks?
Or will we see a titanic upset?
And have we finished complaining that Caitlin Clark isn’t on the US roster?
Let’s take a look at the final event of the Paris Olympics …
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how they got on against Australia in their semifinal:
Breanna Stewart scored 16 points and the US women’s basketball team advanced to their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal game with a 85-64 victory over Australia on Friday.
The Americans, who extended their Olympic winning streak to 60 consecutive games, will face France on Sunday. The US are trying to become the first team to win eight consecutive gold medals, breaking the tie with the American men’s program that won seven in a row from 1936-68.
“The streak is crazy,” Stewart said after the game. “I mean, they just told me when I was doing TV that it was, like, before I was born that it kind of started, which is wild.”
