USA Basketball demolishes Germany, 84-57, in final Olympic warmup after falling to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and the WNBA All-Stars

After losing to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and the WNBA All-Stars in Phoenix on Saturday, USA Basketball bounced back on Tuesday in London by defeating the German Olympic team 84-57.

Two WNBA MVPs were the top performers for Team USA: Breanna Stewart had 15 points, six assists and five rebounds, while A’ja Wilson scored 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting and added a team-high 14 rebounds.

USA Basketball opens the Olympic Games in Paris on Monday against Team Japan.

A’ja Wilson scored 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting and added a team-high 14 rebounds

Saturday’s All-Star game was the third-most watched event ever in the WNBA, with 3.44 million people watching the WNBA All-Stars defeat the U.S. Olympic team 117-109.

The broadcast easily surpassed the 2003 match’s viewership of 1.44 million, with Saturday’s match peaking at more than 4 million viewers.

It was the third-most-watched WNBA event ever and the largest audience for the league since the first two nationally televised games in 1997.

Last year’s match, which was also televised in prime time, attracted 850,000 viewers.

This was the 17th WNBA game this season to draw more than 1 million viewers. Clark appeared in 15 of the games.

The Fever rookie had four points and 10 assists in Saturday’s game, though many believe she should have actually played for Team USA.

Colin Cowherd calls women’s basketball ‘childish’ after Caitlin Clark’s Olympic team was snubbed

FS1’s Colin Cowherd called the women’s basketball team “childish” for rejecting Clark from the Olympics after the rookie’s performance at the WNBA All-Star game.

“They’re a lot like men’s soccer in America,” Cowherd said. “They’re a little bit childish, they’ve been ignored to a greater extent than other sports, and they have a chip on their shoulder. They’re kind of a ‘proof that you belong.’

“For the U.S. men’s national team, the soccer fans, it’s like you need a passcode to even talk about the sport online. And for women’s basketball, it’s this constant [need to] prove that you belong. Caitlin Clark belongs on the Olympic team.’

Aside from Clark’s popularity, Cowherd indicated that her ability to spread the floor would benefit the team in France this summer.

During the All-Star game, Clark led both sides in assists with 10 dimes despite a sluggish scoring performance. Meanwhile, Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale scored 34 points in the win.

Clark is in a neck-and-neck race with Chicago’s Angel Reese for the Rookie of the Year award

“The more I see Caitlin Clark, the more I’m convinced that basketball isn’t quite ready yet,” he said. “She’s more than ready. She helped her WNBA All-Star team beat the U.S. Olympic team this weekend.”

“She was the best playmaker. One of her teammates had 34 points and Caitlin kept feeding her the ball. Most assists in the win, double figures in seven of her last eight games.”

“She’s also, in my opinion, a perfect Olympian or All-Star player, especially the Olympics. All-Star games are a bit of a show-off. But [in the] Olympics, you have to be a facilitator, not a ball catcher. I would say Clark passes too much.’

So far this season, Clark has averaged 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists, helping the Indiana Fever develop into a playoff team.

With 14 games remaining in a season where her popularity has been all-pervasive, Clark is also locked in a head-to-head battle with Angel Reese for Rookie of the Year honors.

“The women’s Olympic team said, ‘You know, if we put her on the team, there’s no question she’s going to be a distraction.’ You know what a distraction is? She’s not [being] in the team.