The French term for “miracle” would have translated as “disaster” for the USA women’s basketball team on Sunday. The U.S. Team sealed the consecutive Olympic gold in Paris. But this Olympic gold will be memorable because the almost unstoppable global power took victory by only inches. It was the closest—and perhaps sweetest—win of the streak.

During its 32-year Olympic run, France has never tested the USA basketball team as much as it was on Sunday. They defeated France 67-66 in a nail-biting final to capture the gold medal at the Paris Games. Americans fell behind by double digits in the third quarter but recovered to extend their record of 61 straight victories in Olympic play, which goes back to 1992.

Photo byBo ZhangonUnsplash

France Challenges USA Team

France did an incredible feat by pushing the United States to its limits in a once-in-a-lifetime moment. But they came up short, leaving Team USA to feel relieved rather than pleased. A’ja Wilson led the team with 21 points, and the game was only decided by a last-second basket by Gabby Williams off a cross-court pass from Marine Johannes.

It was made from just inside the three-point line, denying the hosts the opportunity to go into OT by the narrowest of margins. Olympic gold medallist Wilson said, “We were just resilient in what we needed to do.” “We persisted, gallon by gallon. People want to see basketball like that because it’s fantastic. We received stops, our defense got established, and we all started to sense it.

A slightly closer matchup between the United States and France, the contest was a rematch of the gold medal game from the 2012 London Games, in which the Americans won 36 points, the greatest margin of victory in an Olympic basketball final. Despite their superior firepower, the USA squad was unable to muster a full 40 minutes of effort during the competition until they went into the gold medal game.

France’s Costly Mistakes in Final

The already wild Bercy Arena erupted into a wall of sound when France scored ten straight points to take a 35-25 lead early in the third quarter. However, the USA quickly seized the opportunity, thanks to baskets from Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, and super sub Sabrina Ionescu. Napheesa Collier’s wide-open lay-up after a spectacular Ionescu feed gave them a 41-40 lead.

France wasn’t done, either, with LeBron James sitting courtside in the gold medal he earned in the same building on Saturday night with 5:31 remaining. They seized a 51-49 lead, drawing the fans back in, but a string of crucial errors down the stretch, including a missed three-point try by Williams with 54 seconds remaining, sealed their fate. USA center Brittney Griner, holding back tears after winning her third gold, said, “Maybe they won’t say it’s just easy, and we walk in and just win gold.”

Diana Taurasi became the first athlete in the history of any team sport to capture six Olympic gold medals with the victory, while Jackie Young and Plum became the first players to win gold in both the 3×3 and 5×5 basketball competitions. For the first time in Olympic history, France and the USA competed for gold medals in both the men’s and women’s divisions throughout the weekend before the game on Sunday.

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This article was written by Zartash Zulfiqar