This year the Olympics took place in Paris, France. The United States took 592 athletes to compete in the games for 34 different sports. The United States brought home 126 Olympic medals. Out of those 126 medals, 40 of them were gold, 44 of them were silver, and 42 of them were bronze. One of those medals was won by the United States Women’s Olympic Basketball team. This made the team win their eighth gold medal in a row. The U.S. Women’s team has won a medal every year since they have been in the tournament. First time they competed they won a bronze medal then every game since after that they have proceeded to win gold.
Starting off with the preliminary rounds the United States took on Japan. According to ESPN’s Olympic Stats, the U.S. beat Japan with the score of 102-76. The lead scorers for the U.S. were A’ja Wilson with 24 points and 13 rebounds and Breanna Stewart with 22 points and 8 rebounds. For the second preliminary round the United States took on Belgium. The United States beat Belgium 87-74 with the lead scorers for the team being Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson. Breanna played a big part in this game racking up 26 points. A’ja Wilson also played a big part with her rebounding skills with a total of 13 rebounds. For the final preliminary round the United States took on Germany and beat them with a score of 87-68 and the lead scorers for this game were Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson. Jackie helped rack up 19 points with 4 rebounds. A’ja also helped by racking up 14 points and 3 rebounds. These victories led the Americans to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, the United States played the fierce team of Nigeria. The game against Nigeria was a little rough but the team still managed to pull out a win. In the game one of Nigeria’s players, Ezinne Kalu, made a bucket in the final seconds of the game and one of the United States players, Kahleah Copper, hit Kalu with the ball as it was falling out of the net. This causes both of the players to step up to each other and have to get separated from their teammates to prevent a fight. After the situation, Kalu decides to speak to the United States head coach, Cheryl Reeve, WNBA head coach of the Minnesota Lynx. After careful consideration, the referees give Kahleah Copper a technical foul, but the game ends with no further consideration. Nobody really knows what made Copper so upset, but it ended up in the United States’ favor because they still won the game. With this win, it led the United States to the Semifinals to play the mates down under Australia for a chance for the bronze medal.
The game between the United States and Australia was a well-played game by both teams. Even though Australia played tough, the United States still took the win with the score 85-64. The lead scorers for the United States were Breanna Stewart with 16 points and Jackie Young with 14. Heading into the game, the Australians knew the United States was going to be tough, but they still gave their all. According to Olympics.com, Australian player, Cayla George, stated, “We knew the USA were going to be tough, we’re not naive about it.” Shortly after, George stated, “But the USA, they’re an incredible team, they’re the best in the world for a reason.” After the victory, the United States was moved up into the final against France.
In the final game for the gold the U.S. took on France in a nail-biter game. The United States had a rough start to the game only scoring 15 points in the first quarter but still reigning over France by six points. When the second quarter came around, France came out to attempt to get ahead. At the start of halftime, the game was tied up 25-25 which had fans excited for what the second half would bring. After halftime was over, both teams came out fierce. After the third quarter ended, the score was close. The United States had 55 points and France with 53. By the start of the last quarter, fans were on the edge of their seats, to see what the last quarter would bring. With a couple of seconds left of the game, the United States was leading by three points and it was France’s possession. The final shot of the game French player, Gabby Williams, shot an outside shot which counted as a two-pointer because her feet were on the line. If Williams was one step back she would have caused the game to go into overtime. But since she was on the line, this caused France to fall short to the U.S. and for the Americans to bag the victory.
