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Current time in Tokyo: August 8 a.m., 11:50 a.m.
The United States women’s basketball team got off to a good start in their gold medal match against Japan on Sunday morning at Saitama Super Arena. After a dominant quarter, they are ahead, 23-14.
The United States found an early flow. The team’s first five baskets were scored by five different players. At the same time, the Americans were exploiting their size in defense, pushing Japan back to the rim twice in the opening minutes of the game.
Japan, who need to hit jump shots to win, got just four for 18 on the field. But their 3-point shot keeps them in the game. They sank three in the final minutes to keep a respectable score.
The Americans, who worked the ball inside with relative ease, shot 11 for 18. Brittney Griner led the team with 10 points.
Japan call the timeout midway through the first quarter with the United States in the lead, 14-5. Japan seems a bit outdated here. Their strategy relies on outside shots, but they don’t look good. The Americans, meanwhile, have already found their flow. Their first five baskets were scored by five different players.
Here we go ! The starting eleven at the Saitama Super Arena.
Japan: Maki Takada, Saki Hayashi, Rui Machida, Yuki Miyazawa, Himawari Akaho
United States: Sue Bird, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner
It’s A’ja Wilson’s birthday today. She turned 25. She is averaging 16.0 points per game leading the team and a gold medal as a gift wouldn’t mind.
During warm-ups, the Japanese practice a lot of 3-points, and do them.
The United States and Japan play their gold medal basketball game at Saitama Super Arena on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Tokyo time, 1 p.m. ET.
WATCH LIVE: The game will air on NBC Friday night in the United States at 10:30 p.m. EST.
REPLAY: In the US, you can stream the competition through the NBC Olympics site, its Peacock streaming service, or the NBC Sports app.
A victory would extend a long period of American women’s dominance at the Olympics: the team has not lost a match in the tournament since 1992.
The Americans notched their 54th straight victory on Friday after beating Serbia, 79-59. They handed the ball to Brittney Griner (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Breanna Stewart (12 points, 10 rebounds) for easy baskets and could look to do the same against Japan. Griner shot 65.1% from the field in the team’s first five games.
The team weren’t happy to have made 17 turnovers, but they made up for it with their fierce defense.
“It wasn’t as clean and smooth as we would like,” coach Dawn Staley said afterward. “But at this point in the game you’re going to have to win a lot of different ways, and we’ve found a way to win.”
Sunday’s final could represent the end of the road for two longtime superstars: Sue Bird has said these Olympics will be her last, while Diana Taurasi has hinted at it.
“Last dance, baby!” Taurasi shouted as she returned to the locker room after the team won in the semi-final.
The two are aiming for their fifth gold, which would set a new career record for gold for an Olympic basketball player.
“Sue and Dee, what they did for USA Basketball was extremely special,” said Breanna Stewart last week. “The fact that they are aiming for five consecutive gold medals is insane.”
SAITAMA, Japan – The women’s Olympic basketball tournament comes to a close on Sunday morning (late Saturday night in the United States) with a potentially unbalanced clash between the United States and Japan.
When the teams met earlier in this tournament, as a group, the Americans won by 17. In all aspects of the game – skill, speed, size, strength, to name a few – the United States. United should be superior.
But surprises happen. The Japanese will have home court advantage (all it’s worth in an arena devoid of paying spectators) and look for a huge upset to add another gold to the country’s impressive overall sum.
The Japanese will place their hopes on their ability to connect from a distance. They lead all teams in 3-point shooting, with a rate of 40.9%.
The Americans will need to keep an eye out for two snipers in particular: Yuki Miyazawa drained 19 3 points in this tournament and Saki Hayashi made 17. (The second-highest individual total of the tournament belongs to Kim Mestdagh, who has some made 10 before Belgium was eliminated in the quarter-finals.) Miyazawa shoots 45.2% from 3 points, while Hayashi shoots 50.0%.
Japan looked fluid on offense in a convincing 87-71 semi-final victory over France. Rui Machida orchestrated the performance from the point guard, distributing 18 assists.
The Japanese team will not have much experience to draw on: this is the first time they have reached the medal round in basketball.
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