For a second there, it appeared like Nigeria may pose an actual risk to Staff USA. Ezinne Kalu, one of many breakout stars of the match, was seemingly hitting the whole lot, and Nigeria was solely down by 5 factors halfway by way of the second quarter. Then, Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson occurred, USA discovered its offensive footing, and the remaining was historical past.
The united stateswent a run to shut the primary half and take a 21-point lead heading into halftime. And identical to that, Nigeria grew to become the newest Olympic crew to be on the mistaken finish of a blowout. Nigeria trailed by 20+ for many of the second half, earlier than ending the sport on a 27-6 run. Staff USA’s balanced and environment friendly offense proved an excessive amount of for Nigeria to beat — USA shot 62% from the sector, and each single participant scored.
The victory pushes the U.S. girls one step nearer to their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal, and additional cements simply how troublesome it is going to be for any crew within the subject to beat America.
Right here’s what went down within the quarterfinals showdown between the U.S. and Nigeria — trace: there’s a complete lot of déjà vu.
Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson dominate (once more)
The quarterfinals matchup between USA and Nigeria adopted an identical script to a lot of Staff USA’s video games thus far within the Paris Olympics. For some time, it appeared like Nigeria — powered by Promise Amukamara (19 factors), Ezinne Kalu (16 factors) and Amy Okonkwo (17 factors) — may cling round.
Then, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart as soon as once more fashioned the unstoppable frontcourt duo they’ve been all through the whole thing of those video games. On this one, it was Wilson who led the best way with 20 factors on Sept. 11 taking pictures, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and a pair of blocks. Stewart added 13 factors (5-7 FG), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a pair of blocks.
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Photograph by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE through Getty Pictures
Groups have been capable of finding a solution to coping with Wilson-Stewart duo, and Nigeria — which has no gamers taller than 6’ 2 within the lineup — was no exception. Each American star publish gamers are 6’ 4, whereas Brittney Griner, who added 11 factors off the bench, is 6’ 8. Their sheer measurement far outmatched Nigeria’s, and it definitely didn’t harm that Stewart hit 2 of three three-pointers, both.
A’ja Wilson grew to become the primary American participant since Candace Parker in 2012 to complete with at the least three double-doubles in a single Olympics. She’s at the moment the second-leading scorer within the match.
Stewart completed with a team-best plus-minus of +27, whereas Wilson completed a +26.
Jackie Younger continues her robust play
Earlier in pool play, it appeared that Aces guard Jackie Younger was one of many gamers on the backside of the rotation. However Younger — a defensive stalwart — had a breakthrough offensive recreation on Sunday in opposition to Germany, exploding for 19 factors. Quite than that being a one-off affair, she was subsequently inserted into the beginning lineup rather than Diana Taurasi in opposition to Nigeria, and continued her environment friendly scoring. She ending with 15 factors on 6-10 taking pictures, 3 rebounds, and a pair of assists. She was a +24 in her 18 minutes of play.
Younger, Wilson, and Stewart had been the one gamers on USA’s roster to complete with a plus-minus increased than +17.
Subsequent up, the U.S. girls’s basketball crew takes on Australia
The victory over Nigeria marked the USA’s 59th consecutive Olympic basketball win in, a streak that continues to be unequalled in skilled sports activities. On Friday at 3pm ET, the U.S. will face Australia within the semifinals. A win in that recreation would assure a spot within the Gold Medal Recreation on Sunday, whereas a loss would ship them to the Bronze Medal Recreation.
Australia has recovered nicely from a gradual begin within the match, defeating Serbia 85-67 within the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. Australia’s roster is inundated with WNBA expertise, headlined by Ezi Magbegor (Storm), Alanna Smith (Lynx), Stephanie Talbot (Sparks), Jade Melbourne (Mystics), Sami Whitcomb (Storm), and Kristy Wallace (Indiana).
Sami Whitcomb has been Australia’s main scorer all through the Olympics, averaging 14.8 factors on 50% taking pictures, whereas Alanna Smith has averaged 12.3 factors on 55.9% taking pictures. Magbegor, a WNBA defensive participant of the yr candidate, has anchored Australia’s protection, however has been surprisingly quiet offensively.
The sheer quantity of WNBA gamers on Australia’s roster offers them a extra doubtless pathway to victory than most Olympic opponents — however this is identical Australia crew that opened up Olympic play with a loss to Nigeria. It’d be troublesome to guess in opposition to USA in any matchup, however Australia must be positioned to up a battle nearly as good as anybody.
