US women's basketball team advances to gold medal game at Paris Olympics

Breanna Stewart scored 16 points and the U.S. women advanced to their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal game with an 85-64 victory over Australia on Friday.

The Americans, who extended their Olympic winning streak to 60 consecutive games, will face either France or Belgium on Sunday. The U.S. are trying to become the first team to win eight consecutive gold medals, breaking the tie with the American men's program that won seven in a row from 1936-68.

A win Sunday would give Diana Taurasi a record six gold medals. A game after not starting for the first time since the 2004 Olympics, the Americans' most decorated Olympic basketball player didn't enter the game until 2:08 remained in the third quarter with the U.S. up 63-40.

The U.S. jumped out to an early lead on Australia, but only led 20-16 after the first quarter. The Americans put the game away in the second quarter, starting the period with a 12-0 run. The U.S. led 45-27 at the half.

Things didn't get any better for the Australians in the second half as they never challenged the Americans.

Jackie Young added 14 points, Kahleah Copper had 11 points, and A’ja Wilson scored 10 points.

Isobel Borlase led Australia with 11, and Tess Madgen and Ezi Magbegor each had 10.

While the American team features 12 WNBA All-Stars who have won multiple MVPs, the Australia roster is full of complimentary players in the league. The Opals just didn’t have enough offensive firepower to compete with the American juggernaut.

In the end, the U.S. once again denied the Australians a chance at a gold medal in what has been a one-sided affair between the teams. The Opals have never beaten the U.S. in Olympic competition, losing in the gold medal game in 2000, ’04 and ’08.

The Australians also lost to the U.S. in the semifinals of the 1996 and 2012 Olympics.

Australian veteran Lauren Jackson played 5 minutes after sitting out the last two games and didn’t score. The 43-year-old Jackson hasn’t contributed much in this Olympics, but the fact she’s still playing is a near miracle itself after she retired due to injuries in 2016.

Jackson made a return for the Opals at the 2022 World Cup, helping the team earn bronze there. Now she’ll hope that the team can get one more win Sunday to medal — something the Australians have done in each of the four other Olympics she’s competed in.

Reporting by The Associated Press.