Bird, Taurasi eye their fifth gold
US team one win away from claiming seventh straight Olympic title
It’s been an up-and-down journey to this point for the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team. The group took time to jell and wasn’t dominating opponents as it historically has at the Olympics.
But with a 79-59 win over Serbia in the semifinals Friday, Team USA is now one step away from achieving what its predecessors did at the last six Summer Games: win gold.
“This is exactly where we want to be,” Uconn alum Breanna Stewart said. “So now everything is on the line and we’re going to do what we can to make sure that we come home with a gold.”
The U.S. must get through host nation Japan in the finals to secure the program’s seventh straight. The teams will square off at 10:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC. France (which features Uconn alum Gabby Williams) and Serbia will play for bronze at 3 a.m. ET Saturday.
A win and the U.S. would match
the Olympic record of seven consecutive golds that the U.S. men’s basketball team compiled from 1936-1968. Uconn legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, who say Tokyo will be their final Olympics, would also become the first basketball athletes to win five golds.
Taurasi, who’s been battling
injuries the last two months, appeared to aggravate her hip Friday, ultimately going scoreless for the first time in her Olympic career, only playing 12:30 once the game was out of reach. U.S. coach Dawn Staley wasn’t concerned about Taurasi’s availability for the final and stressed the importance of having her out there in a championship setting.
“Every time we suited up to play a game, she’s available, and I really don’t see anything changing with a gold medal being on the line,” she said.
Against Serbia, bronze medalists in 2016, the U.S. wasn’t as inspiring as in its quarterfinal win over Australia, but was solid nonetheless, particularly on the defensive end. Serbia shot 30 percent from the field and only had 23 points at halftime, at which point the U.S. led, 41-23. In both knockout matches, strong first halves by the U.S. ensured that the game was out of reach by halftime.
“Since we’ve entered the knockout rounds, we’ve come to each game with a little more focus, so you’re seeing the results,” Bird said. “Most of it’s starting on the defensive end, and we’re just carrying that with us onto the offensive end. As usual with USA Basketball, when we come together, we just try to get on a path where we’re just getting better and better every day along the journey. And so I still think there’s another level that we
can get to, and I hope that’s what happens.”
Team USA’S growth on the defensive end since the beginning of the Games is undeniable, but they’ll need to bring their most disciplined effort Saturday. The Japanese put up 30 points in the first quarter against the U.S. in pool play, where the U.S. ultimately won 86-69. Japan’s 5-out style, quick guards with a penchant for shooting 3s, and the standout play of point guard Rui Machida will make for a difficult matchup.
Team USA’S gold-orbust standard, born in 1996 with the program’s first Olympic championship of this streak, creates enough pressure. But it’s increased as Staley and her team feel added responsibility to help Bird and Taurasi go out on top.
The veterans, champions at every level and on the short list of the WNBA’S all-time greats, haven’t made a big deal over Tokyo being their final Games, and according to Breanna Stewart, have downplayed it internally, too.
Nonetheless, it’s on everyone’s minds, fans, players and coaches alike.
“I think they’re doing a great job keeping everything in check, because the main thing is winning the gold medal. I know they want to win their fifth, and we want to help them win their fifth,” said Staley, who won gold with Taurasi and Bird in Athens in 2004.
“I think the cool thing about it is, we’re treating it like any other Olympic Games, where we take one game at a time. We celebrate our wins, and we turn the page and we look forward to the next time that we compete. But I know it’s going to be pretty special. I know they’re probably just reserving for that moment of actually winning their fifth gold medal and our seventh straight gold medal.”