Breanna Stewart, Team USA advance to gold-medal game at Paris Olympics with 85-64 rout of Australia

With an 85-64 rout of Australia in the Paris Olympics semifinals, the U.S. women’s basketball team won its 60th Olympic game in a row and advanced for the opportunity to win an eighth consecutive gold medal.

Team USA has not lost a game at an Olympics since 1992 and will face the winner of the second semifinal between France and Belgium in the gold-medal game Aug. 11 in Paris.

“It’s absolutely incredible. I don’t think I can even put into words what we’ve done with USA basketball and with this national team,” Former UConn superstar Breanna Stewart said in a postgame interview with NBC. “But this is the standard. When I first put that USA jersey on, I knew it was gold, really, or bust. Every time on the court, off the court, the way we prepare ourselves, we’re tying to be the best that we can be and reach new heights.”

Australia can match the Americans’ talent better than any other squad in Paris with five active WNBA players in the starting lineup, but the U.S. imposed its will almost immediately with an 18-point lead at halftime. Though Australia came within two points of the Americans after a 7-0 run in the first quarter, Team USA answered by opening the second quarter on a 14-0 run that the Opals never recovered from.

As she has in nearly every game of these Olympics, Stewart led the U.S. in the first half with 11 points, shooting 4 for 8 from the field. Transition offense powered the dominant start with Stewart’s first bucket coming off a steal and assist from Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young, and Team USA finished outscoring Australia on the fast break 26-9.

“We just continue to play unselfish basketball, making sure that we’re moving the ball and finding the best shot,” Stewart said. “It’s really starting with our defensive scoring in transition, knowing that we have depth that nobody else does in this tournament. We’re making sure that, we’ve gotten where we wanted to be, and now we have one more game to get the gold medal.”

Young joined Stewart in double digits with 10 points before halftime, opening the game shooting 5 for 5 from the field. Young made her second start of the Games, replacing UConn legend Diana Taurasi in the lineup, and the six-time Olympian was the only U.S. player who did not see the floor at all in the first half — or even the first quarter.

Team USA also had an impressive start defensively fueled by four first-half blocks from Aces star A’ja Wilson. Former UConn standout Napheesa Collier also contributed two steals to Australia’s eight turnovers, and the Americans out-rebounded the Opals on both ends of the floor.

Wilson and Stewart have been a dynamic duo since the start of the tournament, and the pair continued to dominate in the second half for Team USA. Stewart finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes, while Wilson led the Americans in rebounding with eight to go along with 10 points and two steals in 20 minutes. Even with two blocks and five defensive rebounds from Seattle Storm standout Ezi Magbegor for Australia, the U.S. controlled the paint with 44 points to the Opals’ 28.

Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas added to the dominant effort on the boards from Team USA with six rebounds plus four assists and three points. Collier also had perhaps her most complete performance of the Games, finishing with eight points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Taurasi checked in for the first time after the U.S. went up 63-40 late in the third quarter, logging six minutes on the floor.