US roll past Australia to reach eighth consecutive Olympic basketball final

Breanna Stewart scored 16 points and the U.S. women’s basketball team advanced to its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal game with an 85-64 win over Australia on Friday.

The Americans, who have extended their Olympic winning streak to 60 consecutive games, play France on Sunday. The U.S. is trying to become the first team to win eight consecutive gold medals, breaking a tie with the U.S. men’s program, which 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 started before I was born, which is wild.”

A win on Sunday would give Diana Taurasi a record six gold medals. A game after not starting for the first time since the 2004 Olympics, the U.S.’s most decorated Olympic basketball player didn’t enter the game until there were two minutes left in the third quarter.

But Taurasi wasn’t needed. The U.S. jumped out to an early lead over Australia, but were down to a meager 20-16 after the first quarter. It was in the second quarter that the Americans decided the game, starting the period on a 12-0 run. The U.S. led 45-27 at halftime.

Things didn’t get any better for the Australians in the second half as they never challenged the Americans. Jackie Young added 14 points, Kahleah Copper 11 and A’ja Wilson 10 for the Americans. Isobel Borlase led Australia with 11, with Tess Madgen and Ezi Magbegor each having 10.

The US was able to take control of the game in the first half, giving coach Cheryl Reeve the opportunity to rotate her team and ensure everyone was fresh and mentally prepared for the gold medal match.

“The group that goes out there will be a little more prepared and equipped to give it everything they’ve got,” Reeve said.

While the U.S. team has 12 WNBA All-Stars who have won multiple MVPs, the Australian roster is loaded with complementary players in the league. The Opals simply didn’t have the offensive firepower to compete with the American juggernaut.

Ultimately, the U.S. denied the Australians another shot at a gold medal in what has been a one-sided rivalry between the teams. The Opals have never defeated the U.S. in Olympic competition, losing in the gold medal game in 2000, ’04 and ’08. The Australians also lost to the U.S. in the semifinals of the 1996 and 2012 Olympics.

“America, they’re the goats for a reason, you know?” said Australian Lauren Jackson, who has played in five of those losses. “They’re full of superstars and I mean, you look at the name on every shirt there is and they’re the best players in the world for a reason. They’re unbelievable.”

Jackson played five minutes after sitting out the last two games and not scoring. The 43-year-old Jackson hasn’t contributed much to these Olympics, but the fact that she’s still playing is almost a miracle in itself after retiring due to injuries in 2016.

Jackson made a comeback for the Opals at the 2022 World Championships, helping the team win bronze. Now she’s hoping the team can pull out one more win on Sunday to secure a medal — something the Australians have done at each of the four other Olympic Games Jackson has competed in.