Dominant US women set for ‘awesome’ medal run

AFTER clobbering the field in group play, the dominant USA women’s basketballers promised an even more “awesome” show ahead as they bullied their way into the Olympic medal phase on Sunday.

The conclusion of group play sets up a knockout phase pointing to a potential fi nal between the United States and Australia, who both topped their groups undefeated.

Team USA lavished an American Olympic record 40 assists on each other on Sunday, and Brittney Griner and Tina Charles led scorers with 18 points as they f licked aside an overmatched China in a 105- 62 blowout.

“I don’t want to jinx us, but I defi nitely can say this was one of our better games as a whole unit,” said centre Sylvia Fowles.

“I know what we can do. Once we get together and get on the same page with us 12, it’s going to be unbelievable. These next few games are going to be awesome.”

They finished their group 5- 0 after a quintet of laughers and will begin quarter-fi nal play Tuesday against an unlucky Japanese squad.

The Americans have won seven of the past eight gold medals and are seeking a sixth straight.

With little to play for against China they were nonetheless frighteningly cohesive, with those 40 assists leading to 46 of their buckets.

Packed with top talent from the Women’s National Basketball Association of the United States, they beat Senegal by a 65- point margin in the groups, the biggest ever for an American women’s team in the Olympics.

Their 81- 51 win over Canada two days ago was the closest anyone has come to challenging them.

The China win was the team’s 46th in a row in the Olympics. — AFP