The knockout round is officially underway in the women's basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics, with four blockbuster quarterfinal matchups on tap on Wednesday, Aug. 7. Who will move on to the semifinals and who will go home? Follow along for a breakdown of all the action.
Women's quarterfinal: France 84, Germany 71
Gabby Williams vs. Satou Sabally turned out to be not much of a contest. Williams (15 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals) won the matchup of the stars, Marine Johannes caught fire from deep (24 points, 5-of-10 from 3) and France's defense smothered Germany all day in a convincing win to reach its second consecutive Olympic semifinal.
Les Bleus asserted themselves in the second quarter, holding Germany to just one field goal over the first six minutes of the period and building a double-digit lead. France's frontcourt was simply too big, long and athletic, and while the aggressive defensive style put Germany on the free-throw line 32 times, it also forced 20 turnovers and held the Germans to just 35% shooting on the day.
The game turned into a rout in the third, with Johannes and Alexia Chery pouring it on from behind the arc while Germany still had no answers offensively. Sabally had easily her worst game of the tournament, with just 10 points on 2-of-10 shooting and a whopping seven turnovers.
It was arguably the most impressive statement in a day full of medal contenders asserting themselves, as Australia and Belgium also look the part of teams that could potentially pose a challenge to the U.S. France draws the Belgians in the semifinal on Friday, Aug. 9, when the crowd in Paris will once again be rocking.
Women's quarterfinal: Australia 85, Serbia 67
Don't look now, but here come the Opals. After getting its Olympics off to a rocky start against Nigeria — a loss that certainly looks a lot more justifiable in retrospect, given how Nigeria has played in this competition — Australia has caught fire, knocking off Canada and France in group play and then pounding Serbia in the first women's quarterfinal on Wednesday.
The Aussies came out scorching, making 12 of their first 18 shots with seven points apiece from Cayla George and breakout star Sami Whitcomb to build a double-digit lead by early in the second quarter. From there, the rout was on: Australia closed the half on an 8-2 run, taking a 16-point lead into the half. The margin would never get back within single digits again, ballooning as high as 28 as Alana Smith and Jade Melbourne came alive.
This Australia team has waves upon waves of offense; the quartet of Whitcomb, Smith, Melbourne and George combined for 73 of the team's 85 points on 23-of-45 shooting, getting into the lane at will for easy looks and a huge 25-14 free-throw edge.
With Melbourne and Whitcomb orchestrating and Smith feasting down low, this is a very dangerous team, one that has totally flipped the script from its slow start as a potential semifinal matchup with the U.S. looms.
Women's quarterfinal: Belgium 79, Spain 66
It took Belgium a little while to get its feet wet, but Emma Meesseman and Co. have finally found the form that made them EuroBasket champions last year — and had many pegging them as a medal dark horse entering this tournament. The Belgians are more than dark horses now: They're Olympic semifinalists, and they're looking as dangerous as anyone this side of the U.S. right now.
As always, it was Meesseman who stirred the drink, getting Belgium rolling with consecutive 3s to start the game and finishing with a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds. Kyara Linskens added 19 of her own, while Julie Vanloo hit 3-of-5 from deep including a couple of preposterous stepbacks.
Spain kept pace for a while, largely thanks to Megan Gustafson: The former Iowa star had another excellent game, leading all scorers with 21, including a personal 10-0 run to put Spain up three early in the second. From there, though, it was all Belgium, closing the half on a 16-5 run and never looking back.
Belgium gave the U.S. a real fight in group play, and it's now officially time to start taking them seriously as gold-medal contenders — whether they draw France or Germany in the semifinals on Friday, that game should be an absolute barnburner.
Women's quarterfinal: U.S. 88, Nigeria 74
Make that 59 in a row in Olympic play for the U.S. women's basketball team, which shot the lights out from the field and pulled away early in a stress-free win over Nigeria. Next up for Team USA? Old rivals Australia.