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The gap between the best and the rest became abundantly clear on Wednesday, with all four winners in the women’s 5×5 basketball quarterfinals cruising to victory by 10 or more points. Now, the table is set, and Team USA, France, Belgium and Australia are the four teams left vying for the gold medal.
Before we look at matchups and who might reach the gold medal game, let’s recap how the four semifinalists got there.
Smith leads Aussies to semis
The Opals were in charge of this contest from the jump. They had a slight edge in the opening quarter and took full control of the game in the second, outscoring Serbia 22-13.
Alanna Smith led Australia with 22 points, and Cayla George was a spark plug off the bench with 18 points. Australia has a tall task ahead of them, facing the Americans in the semifinals. Still, they’ve played as well as anyone and are in prime position for their sixth Olympic medal in women’s basketball.
Belgium advances behind bigs
Belgium defeated Spain 79-66 thanks to the combination of Emma Meesseman and Kyara Linskens. This one-two punch contributed 38 points and 17 rebounds, giving Belgium the advantage they needed to come out victorious.
Spain didn’t go down without a fight. Megan Gustafson scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds, both team highs for Spain. However, it wasn’t enough, as Belgium dominated the glass and the paint, forcing Spain to shoot an inefficient 35 percent from the inside. Belgium will now play the host country, France, in the semis.
Marine’s magic propels France
In case you needed a reminder, Wednesday’s quarterfinal game provided it: Marine Johannès is good at basketball. Thanks to her standout performance, France beat Germany 84-71.
Johannes was a magician on the floor, scoring 24 points on 57 percent shooting. Gabby Williams was as impactful as always, keeping the offense flowing by contributing 15 points, pulling six rebounds and dishing out five assists. It never felt like Germany posed a legitimate threat to Frances, as Les Bleues cruised to victory with the crowd on their side every step of the way.
During our preview of this quarterfinal matchup, we mentioned how vital the Sabally sisters would be to Germany’s chances. But only one had a good game, and it wasn’t Satou. Nyara Sabally cleaned up the glass like no other with 13 rebounds. She shot poorly from the field, but made her living on the free throw line, going 14-for-15 from the charity stripe. Satou never got going, as she went 2-for-10 from the field and scored just 10 points. Given the uphill battle they faced versus France, that wasn’t enough to get the job done and eliminate the host country.
New starting lineup, same winning result for Team USA
How do the best get better? By changing their starting lineup. Against Nigeria, Team USA opted to bench Diana Taurasi and start Jackie Young in her place, and the Las Vegas Aces guard did not disappoint.
She was a tyrant on defense, helped the United States pick up the pace from the jump and ended the game with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Young’s inclusion was a new ripple in Team USA’s path towards the gold, but A’ja Wilson is still the most important player. Wilson led the Americans in both points and rebounds, ending the night with a double-double that featured 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Nigeria never challenged the USA, and this game wasn’t as close as the 88-74 score implies. Nigeria outscored Team USA 26-12 in a fourth quarter that essentially was all garbage time.
The semifinals will begin on Friday. Team USA will face Australia at 11:30 a.m. ET, followed by France vs. Belgium at 3 p.m. ET. The gold and bronze medal matches will take place this Sunday.