USA women’s basketball survives France scare to win record eighth straight Olympic gold medal

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The U.S. women’s basketball team closed out the Olympics. And closed out France in the final, a 67-66 victory that made them the most dominant team in the history of the Games.

Team USA became the first team in any sport to claim eight consecutive Olympic gold medals. They broke a tie with the American men, who’d won seven straight from 1936 to 1968. It wasn’t simple. It wasn’t easy.

But it was golden.

Team USA rallied from ten points behind in the third quarter to win their 61st straight game in Olympic competition. It wasn’t safe until the final second when France’s Gabby Williams — harassed by Breanna Stewart — took her jumper just inches over the line, a 2-pointer instead of the 3 that the hosts needed.

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A’ja Wilson had 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, shaking off a 2-for-10 shooting start to dominate defensively down the stretch.

“Its amazing, It really is the the dynasty we’ve built at USAB is incredible,” Wilson said in an on-court TV interview. “I’m so proud, the resiliency our team showed. We could’ve crumbled many times, but we pulled through.”

“(It was) our defense. But also we just did what we had to do. We just kind of kept the main thing the main thing…We believed in one another.”

Kahleah Copper added a dozen points and five boards off the bench, including eight in the huge fourth quarter.

Asked to describe the latter’s contributions in a sentence, Wilson summed it up succinctly: “That bitch.”

It marked the first time in Olympic history that the same countries had met in both the men’s and women’s gold medal games. And after the men had gutted out the victory over France on Saturday, the women pulled off an encore.

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Barely.

And this one — the last event of the Paris games — pulled the United States atop the gold medal chart, tied with China at 40.

Team USA had fallen behind early, coughing up ten unanswered points. They trailed 35-25 after Marieme Badiane’s free throw with 7:23 left in the third.

They responded with eight unanswered to get back into the game. Plum took a skip pass and hit a 3-pointer to pull them within 35-33.

Sabrina Ionescu — who checked in for the first time after a Plum turnover with 4:33 left in the third — found Collier on back-to-back cuts to extended the run to 18-5 and give Team USA a 43-40 lead.

The rest of the way was tooth and nail.

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Locked in a 49-all tie with 5:36 left, Badiane broke the deadlock with a layup. But A’ja Wilson’s free throws knotted it :21 later.

It was tied at 55-all with just four minutes left on a layup by Williams (team-high 19 points).

But Stewart’s free throw put Team USA back ahead with 3:45 to play. Then Wilson got a shooter’s bounce, making the edge three.

Clinging to a 60-59 lead, Copper took a pass by Stewart and got a head of steam. She drove hard for a layup with 1:18 left to push the lead to three.

Copper scored eight in the final period when Team USA needed it the most.

Stewart used her 7-foot reach, closing out to block Marine Fauthoux out at the arc trying for a potential game-tying 3-pointer with just :17 in regulation.

Wilson hit one of two from the charity stripe to help ensure there would be no overtime.

And ill-advised foul by Copper put Marine Johannes on the line with :13.5 left, and Stewart and Ionescu’s Liberty teammate didn’t miss. She halved the lead, but Kelsey Plum calmly sank both on the other end.

Williams hit a 3-pointer over Wilson’s outstretched hand to make it 65-64, but Copper made two from the line to give them breathing room with five seconds left. Williams’ jumper at the final second came with her foot over the line, ensuring United States victory.

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