U.S. women’s team drops second in a row
Stewart scores 17 but the turnover-ridden Americans fall to Australia in Las Vegas.
AUSTRALIA 70 UNITED STATES 67
LAS VEGAS — Breanna Stewart and her U.S. Olympic teammates aren’t panicking, even though they’ve lost consecutive games for the first time in a decade.
Two days after losing to a team of WNBA All-Stars, the Americans fell to Australia 70-67 on Friday in a pre-Olympic exhibition game.
“There’s a standard and the standard is winning and we haven’t gotten to that point yet,” said Stewart, who scored 17 points for the U.S. “It’s frustrating, it’s part of the game and part of the process.
“When we get to Tokyo and get to the Olympics that’s when it’s really, really crunch time. We’re continuing to elevate and get better every day.”
The U.S. struggled from the outside, missing 16 of its 18 three-point attempts. The Americans, who got together as a team for the first time earlier this week, also had 18 turnovers.
Ezi Magbegor scored 17 points to lead Australia.
Injured Love off U.S. men’s team
The men’s team has lost two games and now two players on its road to Tokyo.
Kevin Love withdrew from the Olympics on Friday because of a right calf injury, forcing the Americans to replace a player for the second straight day.
Love’s withdrawal came after the Americans said that Wizards guard Bradley Beal would miss the Olympics because he was in health and safety protocols.
Center JaVale McGee, who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets last season, and Spurs guard Keldon Johnson were added to the 12man Olympics roster as replacements.