It was almost too easy.
After Team USA women’s basketball was upset by Australia in an exhibition in Vegas, it raised uncharacteristic questions about whether this team could duplicate the accomplishment of the outstanding 2016 Olympic gold medal team in Rio.
But the Americans left no question about who was the team to beat in this tournament Monday night, blowing away the Aussies, 79-55, to win their 53rd consecutive Olympic game and advance to a semi-final match up against Serbia Thursday. Granted, Australia was playing without its powerhouse 6-8 starting center Liz Cambage, who left her team after she was involved in a physical altercation during an exhibition with Nigeria. But after Team USA went on a 17-0 run in the first quarter to take a 21-6 lead, this one was never close.
It was complete dominance against a team that was rated second by FIBA coming into this tournament.
Team USA, who has five WNBA MVPs on its roster, played its best game to date, with 6-4 wing forward Breanna Stewart, the female version of Kevin Durant, scoring 20 of her 23 points in the first half when Team USA increased its lead to 48-27. Towering 6-9 center Brittany Griner had 15 while 6-4 center A’ja Wilson, the best young player in this competition, adding 10 as the Americans front court dominated play.
The 26-year old Stewart from Syracuse, N.Y., who can play all five positions if needed, is the most versatile player in the world. She gives Team USA their biggest size and talent mismatch when Dawn Staley plays her at the small forward Stewart was the national High School Player of the Year and the only player in NCAA history to win four consecutive NCAA Final Four MOPs at UConn during four straight championship runs from 2013-16. He was the first pick in the WNBA draft and has gone on to win one regular season MVP and two playoff MVP awards in 2018 and 2021 for the WNBA Seattle Storm. She has been the most indispensable player on the roster, averaging 32 minutes in the preliminary round, 10 more than any other player.
Stewart shot 8 for 10, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc to go with two blocked shots, a steal and three assists. Stewart also drew six fouls.
Griner had the highlight of the game, one of her two blocks and an emphatic standing denial. She grabbed eight rebounds and a pair of steals.
Team USA looked so much more connected than they were when they started practice in Vegas with 24 assists, eight of them from Chelsea Gray. Starting guards Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, who are both going after an historic fifth gold medal, got off to a rocky start in the prelims, but they looked lazor -focused against the Aussies, particularly on defense where the Americans held Australia, which had been averaging 80 points, to under 60 with a relentless defense that forced them into shooting 30 percent and just 6 for 24 from the three-.point range and held them without a field goal for five minutes in the third quarter when they took a 68-39 lead
Staley played everyone. None of the American starters played down the stretch, allowing them to rest their legs for Serbia.
“Knockout rounds bring out a certain intensity about a team and that played a huge role in it,” Bird said. “It’s do or die at this point. That helps. I do think we subtly have been taking steps in the right direction and getting better. We’re trending in the right direction and getting more comfortable.”
