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Up for grabs Sunday inside Bercy Arena in Paris is not only the Olympic gold medal in women's basketball but an opportunity for the United States to continue its dominance internationally as they meet host country France in the finale.
Breanna Stewart and A'Ja Wilson have been potent, leading scorers for an American team that has cruised through the tournament.
France has ground out victories, including an overtime win in the semifinals against Belgium, and dropped a group stage game to potential bronze medalist Australia.
Can the home country do what no other has proven capable of since the 1992 semifinals and slay the mighty United States on the Olympic stage?
The answer awaits in the tournament final. Find out when and where you can watch it with this preview of the hotly anticipated showdown.
Viewing Info
Date: Sunday, August 11
Time: 9:30 a.m. EST
TV: NBC
Streaming: Peacock and NBCOlympics.com
Can France Realistically Slow Down the USA?
Les Bleus earned their way to the final on the strength of the play of Gabby Williams, Iliana Rupert, and Valeriane Ayayi.
That trio fuels scoring for the team but it is not the only resource on the French squad. The team has quality depth coming off the bench, as evidenced by its 29 points in the win against Belgium.
Fueled by their fellow countrypeople in the stands, and back in the final for the first time since 2012, the team can put an exclamation point on these Olympic Games by pulling off what might be the biggest upset of the entire two-week extravaganza and earning the final gold medal awarded.
If the United States is sloppy and mishandles the ball, the answer is a resounding, "yes!"
Les Bleus have made a habit of capitalizing on turnovers with 23.4 points off takeaways.
The team can grind and play physically, as evidenced against Belgium, a style that few have been able to bring against the Americans.
Even the most competitive teams, though, have ultimately been outmatched by the grit, determination, and skill of the US.
Any path to victory for France includes taking Wilson or Stewart out of the equation and forcing another player to beat them. The problem is that the Americans also have depth, with Brittney Griner, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Lloyd, Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jackie Young all capable of taking over a game and winning it for their team.
As gutsy as France's victory was Friday, and despite all of the support they will have in the stands Sunday from their fans, this is the Americans' game to win or lose and the latter has not happened since before the majority of the team was born.
Add to that the determination to win Diana Taurasi her sixth gold medal, making her the most decorated women's basketball Olympian of all time, and you have a team that is going to be extremely difficult to defeat.
The United States women's basketball team survived a feisty upset bid from Belgium to win 87-74 and advance to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart were once again dominant scorers for Team USA. They combined for 49 points. Stewart led all scorers with 26 points, while Wilson contributed 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Belgium kept the game within 15 points for the majority of the contest and got within single digits in the second half behind Emma Meesseman's 24-point effort.
Team USA is on top of Group C after two games and can confirm its first-place finish with a win over Germany on Sunday.
Group C Standings
1. United States (2-0; +39 point differential)
2. Germany (2-0; +25)
3. Belgium (0-2; -27)
4. Japan (0-2; -37)
Box Score
United States: 23 Q1 / 23 Q2 / 14 TOT / 27 Q4 / 87 TOT
Belgium: 23 Q1 / 15 Q2/ 15 Q3 / 21 Q4 / 74 TOT
Player Statistics
Team Statistics
Team USA Holds On For the Win!
Breanna Stewart Up to 24 Points!
Americans Trying To Pull Away
USA Holding On To A 7-Point Lead
Collier With Two Massive Buckets!
Belgium Is Hanging Around, Down 8 Late in the 3rd
Emma Meesseman is the Game's Leading Scorer with 18 Points
Team USA Up 8 at Halftime
Stewie Is on Fire!
Team USA's Lead Is Up to Double Digits
Breanna Stewart Up to 13 Points
Belgium Hanging with Team USA Through 1 Quarter
Chelsea Gray Already Has Three Assists
What a Start for Breanna Stewart!
USA Starting Five
A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart led the United States women's basketball team to a 102-76 win over Japan in their Summer Olympics opener.
Wilson and Stewart combined for 46 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocks to kick off Group C play.
Wilson led the United States with 24 points, with 13 rebounds and four blocks. Stewart turned in 22 points and eight rebounds.
Chelsea Gray marveled from the point as well, as she contributed 13 assists in the blowout victory.
Group C Standings
1. United States (1-0; +26 point differential)
2. Germany (1-0; +14)
3. Belgium (0-1; -14)
4. Japan (0-1; -26)
United States: 22 Q1 / 28 Q2 / 29 Q3/ 23 Q4/ 102 TOT
Japan: 15 Q1 / 24 Q2 / 18 Q3 / 19 Q4 / 76 TOT
Player Statistics
Team Statistics
Team USA Cruises to Victory
Wilson Has Been Dominant From Start to Finish
Wilson and Stewart Combined for 44 Points!
Team USA In Cruise Control After 3
Chelsea Gray With 13 of 27 Team USA Assists
Chelsea Gray Is Up to 13 Assists!!
Wilson One Board Away From Double-Double
A'Ja Wilson Has 17 Points And 7 Rebounds at Halftime
USA Up 11 At Halftime
Japan Hanging Around Thanks to 3-Point Shooting
USA Starting To Gain Control
Chelsea Gray Is Dealing From The Point
Team USA With 8 Assists on 10 Field Goals
Wilson With Two Early Blocks
A'Ja Wilson In Control To Start Game
A'Ja Wilson Scores Team USA's First Points
USA Starting Five
Angel Reese likely won't be celebrating the Fourth of July with much gusto this year.
The LSU superstar managed just three points in the United States' 67-54 loss against Brazil during FIBA women's AmeriCup play on Tuesday.
Reese finished just 1-of-4 from the field with three rebounds, one assist and three turnovers in 14 minutes and 32 seconds of game time.
It was a far cry from her strong performance in the country's first Americup contest on July 1, an 80-54 win over Venezuela, which saw her put up 11 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one block.
She was equally effective in a 65-56 win over Argentina, scoring just five points but adding 15 rebounds, two assists and a block.
Reese became one of the next up-and-coming stars in women's basketball after leading LSU to a national championship this season over Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes, winning Most Outstanding Player honors in the process.
Both Reese and Clark aren't yet eligible to be drafted in the WNBA due to the league's age rules about being drafted. So the top two young stars in the women's game will be back for a final college season.
In the interim, Reese will try to help the United States rebound in the Americup.
With the victory, Brazil sealed its place atop Group A with a perfect 4-0 record, while the United States is second at 2-1. The United States will finish group play on Wednesday against Cuba. A win will guarantee them second place in the group.
The United States women's basketball team kicked off the 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup with a bang, defeating Venezuela 80-54 in the opening game of the group stage at Domo de la Feria in Mexico.
LSU star Angel Reese, fresh off winning a national championship with the Tigers, was one of the game's top performers as she finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one block. She made 4 of 7 shots from the floor.
Reese was named to the Team USA roster for the women's AmeriCup, which is held every two years, in May after tryouts in Colorado Springs. The tournament features the top players from 10 different countries in North America, South America and the Caribbean.
This is the first time the 21-year-old is representing the United States.
Playing for Team USA is only the next step in what should be a very successful career for Reese. After this tournament, she'll aim to win another title with LSU before entering the WNBA draft.
The United States will be back in action on Sunday against Argentina. The Americans also have group stage matchups against Brazil and Cuba on tap.
After the first minute of Olympic women's basketball tournament play, A'ja Wilson missed her first free throw. She rolled her shoulders back before taking the next one and made it.
Moments later, trying to secure an offensive board versus Nigeria, the ball slipped out of her hands.
With 1:18 left in the first quarter, she missed another front-end free throw, followed by a missed mid-range jumper, usually her bread and butter.
Teammate Tina Charles battled for the rebound, but the ball rolled off her fingertips. Wilson clapped her hands once the ball went out of bounds. The possession arrow went to Nigeria, and Wilson lifted her head up to the ceiling in frustration.
This was Team USA's first and perhaps biggest test in these Olympics. It was also the first time this iteration of Team USA—an international powerhouse that hasn't lost an Olympic game since 1992—realized it would need Wilson more than anyone thought.
Wilson has been exceptionally consistent, averaging 17.8 points, 8.5 boards and 2.0 assists per game in Tokyo. With two games separating Team USA from its seventh straight gold medal, Wilson and Co. now set their sights on 2021 EuroBasket champions Serbia, who the U.S. plays Friday at 12:40 a.m. ET.
Wilson, just 24 years old and a key starter, is a good bet to be the future face of Team USA. Most pundits, including me, figured this team would be led by Breanna Stewart. Stewart's been nothing short of exceptional, but through four games in Olympic play, Wilson leads Team USA in points per game at 17.8 and has dominated between the box score columns.
Still, as the youngest impact player on the team, she's staying humble, taking notes for the future and trying to stay present. When she can't sleep still battling the time difference from the West Coast to Japan, she takes a deep breath and thinks to herself.
Wow, I'm really in Tokyo.
"It's like, 'Girl, you're in the Olympics; like you're in the Olympics,'" she told Bleacher Report via Zoom after USA's 93-82 win over France earlier this week. "You used to watch this; like take it all in…"
After one quarter versus Nigeria, Team USA trailed 20-17. The U.S. couldn't match Nigeria's energy or get into offensive sets.
Before the second quarter began, Sue Bird turned to Wilson in the huddle and said, "Every rebound is yours."
That confirmed Wilson's own ideas about who she needed to be for this team.
Her focus shifted to adding possessions for her team. Forget the superstar's burden of playmaking and scoring. She got out and ran. She stormed the offensive glass. In the second half, she was a putback machine and finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and two steals for the game.
"If you look at our roster, everyone can score from each position, so it wasn't putting points on the board," she said. "It was getting those possessions doing the little things, the 50-50 balls."
As a rookie Olympian, she may be Team USA's most valuable player. How is that possible on a team that includes Breanna Stewart, Bird, Brittney Griner, Tina Charles and Diana Taurasi? USA head coach Dawn Staley put it simply: Wilson has stayed true to herself.
"I just told A'ja to be A'ja," Staley said in a July 26 post-practice press conference "Obviously, she's on this team for a reason. She can score a basketball. She can defend."
But Wilson is thinking about the future, listening to the people around her, adjusting to a new environment.
When mentors like Bird, Taurasi and Sylvia Fowles have moved on from Team USA, Wilson will carry the responsibility and burden of excellence. She understands she's the future of the team.
"When it comes to just those moments where you got to dig yourself out of a hole or you need a bucket and you're just thinking, we're all leaning on another and hyping each other up," she told B/R. "So that right there helps me out a lot, especially being one of the youngest, because it's gonna be a time when their time is gone and it's going to be me, and I'm going to have to step up and be the same exact [way] that they are to me to someone else."
In the future, she'll have to show younger players how to gel in two weeks. She'll have to make sure what must be done is done. Whatever it takes to win the gold.
As the WNBA's reigning MVP, she already has that level of experience.
In Las Vegas, she is relied upon to be a star, or rather a co-star with Liz Cambage. There, she's had to become a more proficient passer, and it shows on Team USA. The Americans currently lead all teams in Tokyo with 27.3 assists per game.
"[The Aces] prepped me for a moment like this, where I'm playing with Brittney Griner down low or Diana Taurasi in the corner, or Stewie in the corner," Wilson told B/R. "Seeing that has really helped me, so that's been a key factor into who I am this year, and that's how my role has changed this year."
Her time with Team USA has given her the skills she needs to hold those around her accountable, be it when she returns to Vegas or on future USA basketball squads.
"Once I'm consistent in myself and I hold myself accountable, I can then hold my teammates accountable for what I need out of them."
Staley had a feeling her star power forward would question everything in a new setting. This is her first Olympics, and Wilson admits she overthinks everything. She's five steps ahead of the present, whether she likes it or not.
"There's no second-guessing," Staley said. "She has to be the A'ja Wilson that she was for South Carolina, for the Aces, for the U-19, for the U-18. ... She's been a pretty special player for all of those organizations that she must continue to do that for us in this Olympic Games."
Team USA improved to 2-0 in women's basketball at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with an 86-69 win over host Japan on Friday.
The Americans now own wins over Japan and Nigeria, putting them atop Group B, with Japan and France tied for second at 1-1.
Belgium, France and China also picked up victories in group play on Friday.
Here is a full listing of results from Friday's action in women's basketball, along with further analysis regarding each of the four games.
Friday Olympic Women's Basketball Results
USA 86, Japan 69
Belgium 87, Puerto Rico 52
France 87, Nigeria 62
China 76, Australia 74
Friday Olympic Women's Basketball Recap
USA 86, Japan 69
Team USA bounced back from a slow start Friday to comfortably beat Japan and put itself in ideal position to win Group B.
Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm and A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces were the stars for the U.S., as they both recorded double-doubles in the victory.
Wilson was the game's leading scorer with 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, while Stewart chipped in 15 points, 13 boards, six assists and two blocks.
Team USA fired on all cylinders offensively, but the best play of the day came on the defensive end when Stewart executed a chase-down block in the second quarter:
For Wilson, she now has two double-doubles in two games in Tokyo, and she has developed into a dominant interior force for the Americans.
WNBA analyst LaChina Robinson even compared Wilson to one of the greatest bigs in the history of USA women's basketball:
The Americans came out of the gates slow Friday, trailing 30-28 after the first quarter, but the defense tightened up significantly thereafter, allowing just 39 points over the final three quarters.
Team USA also trailed Nigeria after the first quarter in its opening game before storming back, proving that the United States gets better as the game goes on.
In total, five Team USA players scored in double figures with Brittney Griner (15), Jewell Loyd (12) and Diana Taurasi (11) joining Stewart and Wilson.
The Americans dominated statistically, shooting 54 percent from the field compared to 35 percent for Japan and winning the rebound battle 48-33.
Next up for Team USA is France on Monday to close out group play, while Japan will face Nigeria on Monday.
Belgium 87, Puerto Rico 52
Belgium continued its hot start at the 2021 Summer Olympics, beating Puerto Rico by 35 points Friday.
Emma Meesseman, who stars for the WNBA's Washington Mystics, was the biggest difference-maker for Belgium, scoring a game-high 26 points to go along with 15 rebounds, six assists and three steals.
That came on the heels of a 32-point performance from Meesseman in Belgium's opening win over Australia.
Belgium got 18 points from Hanne Mestdagh and 15 from Kim Mestdagh in the one-sided victory Friday.
After taking a seven-point lead into the first quarter, Belgium outscored Puerto Rico by a 20-8 margin in the second, which essentially put the game out of reach.
Belgium ended shot 52 percent from the floor in the game, compared to just 24 percent for Puerto Rico, and Belgium also outrebounded Puerto Rico 54-33.
The win gives Belgium a 2-0 record for the tournament, tying it with China for first place in Group C.
Belgium and China will play for the group Monday, while Puerto Rico and Australia will face each other Monday, with each in search of their first win.
France 87, Nigeria 62
On the heels of a disappointing loss to Japan in its opening game, France performed much better Friday in an 87-62 win over Nigeria.
France benefited from a balanced offensive attack with five players scoring at least 13 points in the game.
Veteran center Sandrine Gruda led the way with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Endene Miyem, Gabby Williams, Marine Johannes and Alix Duchet all scored 13 points apiece.
By comparison, Nigeria had just two players score in double figures, including leading scorer Promise Amukamara, who finished with just 11 points.
France shot 50 percent from the field in the win, while Nigeria only connected on 35 percent of its field-goal attempts.
The French dominated the rebounding battle 45-32 as well, and they also dished out 24 assists to Nigeria's 10.
France will face its toughest test yet Monday when it takes on Team USA, while Nigeria will attempt to bounce back against Japan.
China 76, Australia 74
The only truly competitive game of the day saw China outlast Australia 76-74 to improve its tournament record to 2-0.
China stormed out to an eight-point lead through one quarter, only to give it all back and enter the locker room at halftime with the score tied. China then bounced back and led by eight after three, and while the Aussies staged a comeback, they fell short in the fourth.
Australia managed to tie the game at 74-74 with just two seconds remaining, but it fouled China's Li Yueru with less than a second left.
Li made both of her free throws to ice the game for China.
Yueru was one of the top stars for China on Friday, netting 12 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Wang Siyu was the team's leading scorer with 20 points.
Australia had three players score in double figures, including Ezi Magbegor, who led the way with 15.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well, with China making 43 percent of its attempts and Australia making 39, but China did thrive around the basket.
China had more rebounds by a 42-31 margin and outscored Australia 36-30 in the paint as well.
Friday's win means China will face undefeated Belgium on Monday, with the winner taking the group, while Australia and Puerto Rico will both look to secure their first win.
Basketball Australia is investigating the circumstances of an incident involving Liz Cambage that happened during a scrimmage with Nigeria.
The organization said it's looking into the matter for a possible "breach of the integrity framework and code of conduct."
The incident preceded Cambage's withdrawal from the national team on July 15 ahead of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Cambage announced on Instagram she was withdrawing because she didn't feel in the right frame of mind to compete. She said she had "been really worried about heading into a 'bubble' Olympics" without a support system outside of the Opals.
The news came after ESPN's Olgun Uluc reported she had been involved in a physical altercation and a "charged verbal exchange" during the scrimmage against Nigeria.
The ESPN report alleged Cambage also violated the Australian team's COVID-19 protocols by going out in Las Vegas, where the team was stationed for training camp prior to its trip to Tokyo.
The four-time All-Star addressed the situation through her Instagram account and said she did not violate the safety protocols and was "pretty annoyed at all the fake news and the lies I'm seeing floating around in news articles and being shown and being asked about" (via Chris Young of Yahoo Sport Australia). She also said she had received the green light to attend the 2021 WNBA All-Star Game in Vegas.
Cambage acknowledged that "things got heated in the Nigeria game" and turned physical. However, she said the game was filmed and would thus provide evidence in her defense.
Cambage has been forthcoming about her mental health struggles in the past.
"I've battled mental health problems—first, anxiety, and later the depression that anxiety can trigger—on and off for about half my life," she wrote in a piece for The Players' Tribune in August 2019.
In speaking about her decision not to compete in the 2020 Olympics, the 29-year-old said she was experiencing panic attacks and "not sleeping and not eating" for the last month.
Cambage was expected to be a key player for Australia as it seeks to improve on a bronze-medal finish in the 2016 Summer Games. She averaged 23.8 points and 10.5 rebounds when the Opals were runners-up to the United States in the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.
