In the fight for gold medals, the USA defeated the French national team 67:66 (15:9, 10:16, 20:18, 22:23), celebrating its eighth consecutive victory in the Olympic tournament.
This was the sixth Olympic gold medal for 42-year-old Diane Taurazi, who did not compete in the final. No other athlete has so many gold medals in team sports. Taurazi won his first gold medal in 2004 in Athens.
This was the third Olympic gold medal for Brienne Stewart and Brittney Grainer, the second for Lloyd Jewell, Aiza Wilson, Nefisa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plam, in addition, Young and Plam won the 3×3 basketball tournament in Tokyo three years ago, and Sabrina Ionescu, Cali Cope and Alisa Thomas won Olympic gold medals for the first time.
In the final match, France took more free throws (17/17), but USA players took more of them (27/34).
The USA won the battle under the basket (48:39), had more effective passes (18:12), blocked shots more often (6:2), but also made more mistakes (19:14). On the other hand, French women violated the rules more often (25:13).
Eiža Wilson scored 21 points and 13 rebounds for the winners, Kelsey Plam and Kalija Coper scored 12 points each, and she also had five rebounds.
Gabby Williams collected 17 points and seven rebounds for the French women.
Although the USA scored the first four points in the match, the Americans could not go beyond an eight-point advantage (17:9) at the beginning of the second quarter due to many mistakes.
The hosts responded with a 7-0 run, tying the score at 20-20 in the middle of the quarter after Valeriana Ajaji’s two-point shot.
The half also ended in a draw – 25:25.
The French national team started the second half with a 10-0 breakthrough, reaching 35-25 after two accurate free throws by Mariem Badian.
The American women scored the next eight points, leading 43-40 at the end of the quarter.
A similar battle continued until the last minute. Gabby Williams made a long shot five seconds before the end of the match, allowing France to get closer to 64-65, but Copere made two free throws to allow the USA team to celebrate the victory, because Williams’ shot in the last second of the game bounced into the basket, but Williams stepped on the three-point line, including the referees just two points.
It has already been reported that in the game for third place, the Australians beat Belgium, who entered the top four for the first time, 85:81 (20:19, 17:17, 23:25, 25:20).
Australia has three silver and bronze medals each at the Olympics.
The Olympic Games in Paris, which took place from July 26 not only in the French capital, but also in 16 other places, including the French overseas territory of French Polynesia, will end on Sunday. The Games program includes 32 sports and 329 sets of medals will be distributed.
2024-08-13 08:59:41