Team USA women’s basketball won its fifth consecutive gold medal Sunday, holding off France, 67-66, at sold out Bercy Arena.
But the team’s 61st straight victory didn’t come without its share of drama.
This was hardly an artistic triumph. It was an act of survival. that was accomplished only after French guard and former UConn star Gabbie Williams banked in a jumper from just inside the arc as time expired that would have forced overtime if it had been a three.
Inches separated these two teams in this rock fight of a game.
The USA had been invincible from the group rounds through the semi-finals, where it buried Australia, 87-64, playing a near perfect game two days earlier.
But Team USA came out flat against France and struggled to gain any real traction throughout the game. They shot just 33.9 [percent and were just 2 for 12 from three. They had19 turnovers. They only scored 25 points in the first half, and they fell behind by 10 points early in the third quarter before summoning enough energy to get the job done.
A’ja Wilson, the 6-5 center who is arguably the best player in the world, led the charge with 21 points and 13 rebounds. recovering from a dreadful first half where she shot 2 for 9 to go 4 for 5 plus seven free throws in the second.
Wilson was selected the MVP of the Olympic tournament, averaging 18.7 points and 10.2 assists over the six games.
“It wasn’t the prettiest of games,” she admitted. “But it was the ones sometimes you got to grind out and I think we did a decent job of doing that. It was an electric atmosphere. I feel like everyone one sitting here felt it. It was a great one to play in.
“I’m so proud of the resilience my team showed. We could have folded. We could have crumbled many times. We pulled through”
It was an historic moment for American iconic guard Diana Taurasi, who won her sixth gold medal.
The game wasn’t decided until the Americans made five clutch free throws in the final seconds. Kahleah Copper, one of the many heroes, made the winning ones with three seconds to play, capping off a 12-point, 5 rebound performance that was badly needed on a day when America’s most versatile player, 6-4 forward Breanna Stewart, was locked into the corner in Team USA’s halfcourt sets and shot just 2 for 8 and guard Jackie Young, who had a breakout tournament, only scored two points in 28 minutes.
America is used to run shell drills to get what they want offensively against weaker teams. But France, buoyed by a flood of black athletes onto an upgraded roster, is different. This is the first time Team USA has seen this type of physical, aggressive defense from a European opponent since the late Soviet Union in the 70s and early 90s and it took time for them to adjust to pressure on the perimeter. that created turnovers, poor passing decisions and took the Americans out of their comfort zone.
Williams, who played five years in the W, came up huge for France with 19 points. The French could have made a bad situation worse if they had shot the ball better. As it was, the French shot just 32 percent and were just 7 for 36 on three pointers.
“It’s France’s identity. It’s also our identity,” USA coach Cheryl Reeve said. “That’s why you saw a slug fest that was happening. Neither team could really get to their offense identities. It comes down to players making plays. That’s what happened in this game.”
The Americans survived but Reeve wasn’t immune from criticism from social media, which trashed her substitution pattern, especially her minimal use of Sabrina Ionesciu, the best pure shooter on the team, after Team USA did not make — or attempt– a three-point shot in the first half.
