Next stop: 60. The U.S. women's basketball team ran its Olympic winning streak to a whopping 59 games on Wednesday, running right past Nigeria in an impressive 88-74 win that puts it back in the semifinals — and just two more victories away from a historic eighth straight gold medal.
Nigeria shocked the world to get to this point, and it did it with maximum aggression, leading the tournament in steals and playing at a frenetic pace. But Team USA was simply too big, too fast and too skilled to be rattled in this one. There were some moments of carelessness, especially in the opening minutes, but for the most part the U.S. carved right through the Nigerian defense en route to 58% shooting from the field.
As it has been throughout these Games, it was A'ja Wilson (20 points on 9-off-11 shooting, 11 rebounds, two blocks) and Breanna Stewart (13 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks) setting the tone, while Jackie Young — newly inserted into the starting lineup — added 15 of her own. Nigerian point guard Ezinne Kalu added one last impressive game her to Olympic resume, scoring 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting and adding seven assists in the loss.
It remains to be seen whether anyone in the field is capable of hanging with this U.S. team for a full 40 minutes. The next challenger, however, is an old friend: Team USA will take on Australia in the semifinal on Friday, Aug. 9, rekindling a rivalry that dominated the sport in the 2000s.
Read on for a full recap and key takeaways from another easy U.S. win.
U.S. 88, Nigeria 74: Full recap and key takeaways
Jackie Young starts, Diana Taurasi sits
The rumbles had started to grow louder, especially after Jackie Young played so well in the final group game against Germany. And finally, head coach Cheryl Reeve pulled the trigger: After starting all three games of group play, Diana Taurasi was pulled from the starting lineup and replaced by Young. The move made a ton of sense, considering Young's athleticism advantage over Taurasi at this stage in the legend's career and how useful the extra ballhandling would be against an aggressive Nigeria defense. And sure enough, Young paid it off, looking for hers when the opportunity presented, keeping the ball moving when it didn't and pushing the pace to take advantage of a Nigerian side that got sloppy in transition defense. The Young-Wilson-Stewart trio was a whopping +27 when it shared the floor, helping the U.S. build a nine-point lead after the end of the first quarter.
Near-perfect offense
Nigeria's snarling, in-your-jersey defensive style figured to provide an interesting test for a U.S. offense that had shown a tendency to get a little stultified during group play. Consider that test passed, and resoundingly so: Every single American player scored in this one, and the U.S. shot a whopping 28-of-40 from inside the arc. Facing a Nigeria team that had forced more steals than any other team in Paris, the turnover battle was a near draw in this one (Nigeria turned the ball over 13 times, the U.S. 16) and the U.S. never allowed itself to get sped up or rattled. There were still some ill-advised passes, some swinging for the fences when a single would do, but overall the execution was pristine. That allowed the U.S. to control the pace at which this game was played; the U.S. forced Nigeria into half court offense regularly, and D'Tigress shot just 41% from the field and an ugly 6-of-25 from beyond the arc. And when those misses happened, Team USA was surgical in deciding when it wanted to run.
Brittney Griner's best game
Well this was a sight for sore eyes. It felt like Griner was sort of easing into play in Paris, never getting more than three or four minutes of run at a time and not quite exerting herself on the game in the way that we're used to seeing. But against a Nigeria side that doesn't really have any sort of post presence, Griner was a force all night, scoring 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and altering countless Nigeria shots near the rim.
More importantly, Griner looked a bit sprier, a bit more forceful. She's still not quite the player she was, and she's not a perfect fit for every matchup. But if this is a card that Reeve will be able to play moving forward, look out.
What's next for Team USA?
The U.S. and Australia have met eight times in Olympic play, including in six of the last seven Games — highlighted by three consecutive gold medal games in 2000, 2004 and 2008. These are very old acquaintances, and they'll lock up once again in the semifinal on Friday, Aug. 9. Lauren Jackson is still around, but she plays only sparingly, content to hand the keys to one of the best guard-big duos in the tournament in Jade Melbourne and Alana Smith.