Team USA women's basketball dominated Australia in the semifinal of the Paris Olympics on Friday to secure their shot at history.
The 85–64 victory puts the Americans into the gold medal game once more. Should they win, they'll set a new Olympic record with eight consecutive gold medal wins. The standing record is seven straight golds, held by the U.S. men's basketball team, who finished first in seven straight Olympic Games from 1936–1968.
Team USA women's hoops defeats Australia to reach its EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE Olympic final. 🇺🇸🤯 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/b9GTqwerkc
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 9, 2024
It was a tremendous defensive performance from the U.S. side. Behind four blocks from WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson, they held Australia to 27 points in the first half. Wilson would add 10 points and two steals to her total. Jackie Young also put forth a great all-around effort, posting 14 points, five assists and two steals. Breanna Stewart led the way in the points column with 16 on 6-of-12 shooting.
The Americans don't yet know who they'll play with history on the line. France and Belgium are still on the docket in the semifinals; should France pull through, the host country will have both its men's and women's basketball teams playing for gold this weekend.
The gold medal match is set to tip off on Sunday.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Team USA Secures Shot at Historic Women’s Basketball Gold Medal With Dominant Win Over Australia.
