Scoreboard
USA 93, France 82
What went down
The road wasn’t as smooth, but Team USA still ended up in the same place: unscathed and undefeated.
They’re now moving on to the knockout stage of the women’s basketball competition after sweeping three games of group play. The last team on their path was France, which put up a good fight until the fourth quarter, when Team USA closed out in superior fashion.
That has been the team’s calling card so far in this Olympics. They’ve been able to perform at a higher level when their backs are against the wall. Against France, Team USA found themselves trailing in the fourth before turning on the switch from deep.
Tina Charles (15 points) and Sue Bird found the range to lead a 22-10 run for the closeout win. A’ja Wilson again led Team USA with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
A balanced attack from a competitive France squad, which had six players scoring in double figures led by Edene Miyam’s 15 points, weren’t enough to overpower Team USA.
Team USA moves on to the next round where the road is expected to get bumpier. They’ll have to keep it steady from tipoff to buzzer to keep the winning tradition alive.
Big-time baller
Tina Charles, the WNBA’s leading scorer, took charge in the fourth to help Team USA secure the win. While getting buckets isn’t anything new to Charles, how she did it was noteworthy.
Known to dominate inside, Charles took her game to the deep end and hit all three of her 3-point attempts. Olympic Tina is unstoppable.
Did you see that?
Stewie's heating up! @breannastewart has 9 PTS here in the second.
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 2, 2021
5:15 2Q | 🇺🇸 39 🇫🇷 39#Tokyo2020 #Basketball pic.twitter.com/bupIIYLHNb
Breanna Stewart scored a total of 17 points, but did most of her flexing in a single quarter. She was scorching to end the first half, dropping 14 in the second quarter alone.
