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The United States women’s basketball team will have the chance to win a seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal.
The US team beat Serbia 79-59 in their semi-final match on Friday in Japan to earn a berth in the gold medal game. The victory marked their 54th consecutive victory at the Olympics, a streak dating back to the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
The United States wasted no time on Friday and took advantage of Serbia’s difficult offensive start to take a 25-12 lead after the first quarter. Serbia shot just 6 of 19 in the first 10 minutes and scored just four points in the game’s opening five minutes.
Although both teams slowed down a bit offensively in the second, Team USA ended the period on an 11-3 push to take an 18-point lead at halftime.
By then, the game was basically over. The Americans extended their lead to 19 points at the end of the third quarter, then moved through the final period to secure the 20-point victory and advance to the championship game.
Serbia only had one player scored in double digits in the loss. Yvonne Anderson – the daughter of St. John’s men’s basketball coach Mike Anderson – led the team with 15 points off the bench while shooting 6 of 16 from the field. Serbia only shot 30% as a team and rose to 4 of 19 behind the arc.
Brittney Griner led the United States with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Chelsea Gray scored 14 points off the bench while shooting 5 of 6 from the field. Breanna Stewart added 12 points and nine rebounds. They had 17 turnovers in the win.
The United States team will advance to face either Japan or France in the gold medal match. The two countries meet later on Friday, with the loser moving on to the bronze medal match against Serbia.
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