The hole between the very best and the remainder turned abundantly clear on Wednesday, with all 4 winners within the ladies’s 5×5 basketball quarterfinals cruising to victory by 10 or extra factors. Now, the desk is about, and Group USA, France, Belgium and Australia are the 4 groups left vying for the gold medal.
Earlier than we have a look at matchups and who may attain the gold medal recreation, let’s recap how the 4 semifinalists obtained there.
Smith leads Aussies to semis
The Opals have been answerable for this contest from the bounce. That they had a slight edge within the opening quarter and took full management of the sport within the second, outscoring Serbia 22-13.
Alanna Smith led Australia with 22 factors, and Cayla George was a spark plug off the bench with 18 factors. Australia has a tall process forward of them, going through the Individuals within the semifinals. Nonetheless, they’ve performed in addition to anybody and are in prime place for his or her sixth Olympic medal in ladies’s basketball.
Belgium advances behind bigs
Belgium defeated Spain 79-66 because of the mix of Emma Meesseman and Kyara Linskens. This one-two punch contributed 38 factors and 17 rebounds, giving Belgium the benefit they wanted to come back out victorious.
Spain didn’t go down with no battle. Megan Gustafson scored 21 factors and grabbed seven rebounds, each crew highs for Spain. Nevertheless, it wasn’t sufficient, as Belgium dominated the glass and the paint, forcing Spain to shoot an inefficient 35 p.c from the within. Belgium will now play the host nation, France, within the semis.
Marine’s magic propels France
In case you wanted a reminder, Wednesday’s quarterfinal recreation offered it: Marine Johannès is nice at basketball. Because of her standout efficiency, France beat Germany 84-71.
Johannes was a magician on the ground, scoring 24 factors on 57 p.c capturing. Gabby Williams was as impactful as at all times, preserving the offense flowing by contributing 15 factors, pulling six rebounds and doling out 5 assists. It by no means felt like Germany posed a authentic risk to Frances, as Les Bleues cruised to victory with the gang on their aspect each step of the way in which.
Throughout our preview of this quarterfinal matchup, we talked about how important the Sabally sisters could be to Germany’s possibilities. However just one had a superb recreation, and it wasn’t Satou. Nyara Sabally cleaned up the glass like no different with 13 rebounds. She shot poorly from the sector, however made her dwelling on the free throw line, going 14-for-15 from the charity stripe. Satou by no means obtained going, as she went 2-for-10 from the sector and scored simply 10 factors. Given the uphill battle they confronted versus France, that wasn’t sufficient to get the job achieved and remove the host nation.
New beginning lineup, similar profitable end result for Group USA
How do the very best get higher? By altering their beginning lineup. In opposition to Nigeria, Group USA opted to bench Diana Taurasi and begin Jackie Younger in her place, and the Las Vegas Aces guard didn’t disappoint.
She was a tyrant on protection, helped the US decide up the tempo from the bounce and ended the sport with 15 factors on 6-for-10 capturing. Younger’s inclusion was a brand new ripple in Group USA’s path in the direction of the gold, however A’ja Wilson continues to be an important participant. Wilson led the Individuals in each factors and rebounds, ending the evening with a double-double that featured 20 factors and 11 rebounds.
Nigeria by no means challenged the USA, and this recreation wasn’t as shut because the 88-74 rating implies. Nigeria outscored Group USA 26-12 in a fourth quarter that basically was all rubbish time.
The semifinals will start on Friday. Group USA will face Australia at 11:30 a.m. ET, adopted by France vs. Belgium at 3 p.m. ET. The gold and bronze medal matches will happen this Sunday.
