After a slow start, Team USA managed to dominate their third straight game of group play and defeat Germany by a final score of 87-68. Thanks to Jackie Young – who came off the bench again in this contest but contributed 27 minutes on the floor overall – Team USA left with a huge win and even greater point differential as they enter the quarterfinals in this year’s Olympics.
This win marks their 58th straight victory at the Olympics, and it sets them up for a clash with Nigeria this coming Wednesday. They will also be relocating to Paris for their remaining games, upping the feeling that they are getting close to at minimum reaching the podium this year and at best close to winning their eighth consecutive gold medal.
Box Score at a Glance
Young came in and looked night and day from starting veteran guard Diana Taurasi with her impact not solely based on scoring, but with her perimeter defense. That has been a huge issue for this team despite their wins – allowing many open threes off screens that Taurasi and Chelsea Gray are unable to fight through – so inserting Young made sense here.
She finished with 19 points on an efficient 7-13 shooting, adding in a superb four steals, four rebounds and two assists. Her impact was felt throughout the game, keeping Germany’s sharp shooting guards Leonie Fiebich, Alexis Peterson and Alexandra Wilke honest around the arc. Her speed and ability to score at will at times was also huge, and a major difference between the more passive scoring approach of Gray or the lack of explosiveness from Taurasi.
I do not mean to knock Taurasi so much, as she is obviously a legend of the Olympics and of the game of basketball in general. But, with Team USA starting to face off with more physical talent as they get through to the quarterfinals and ideally beyond then, they may have to make some decisions about this starting lineup to let Young shine.
Team USA also continued to win the boards, grabbing 42 to Germany’s 32. Germany was missing Nyara Sabally who was out with injury, and that certainly impacted them on the glass. Additionally, the U.S.’s three-point shooting is finally looking closer to what their roster should reflect in terms of efficiency, shooting 42.9 percent from deep.
AT Too Strong
Another player that had a huge impact on swinging momentum in this contest was Alyssa Thomas. Coming off the bench, she added her signature passing and rebounding in her spurts. With an all around balanced line of six points, five assists, three boards and one steal, she managed to assert herself in the paint with her strength and again add a dimension to Team USA’s offense that they lack without players like her or Young on the floor.
Her play continues to show how important winning those 50-50 balls are. Thomas on the floor guarantees that Team USA can very likely win those balls, and that will be big for their continued success in scoring in transition moving forward.
Rest of Tournament
Now that we know that Team USA has won Group C handily – they were undefeated, but a +58 point differential surely seals the deal – they will face off with Nigeria this coming Wednesday at 3:30PM EST. Nigeria has reached the quarterfinals for the first time in Olympics history with their win over Canada over the weekend.
As for the rest of the bracket, Serbia will face off with Australia on Wednesday, Spain against Belgium and Germany against France. If Team USA advances, they would face off with the winner of Serbia v. Australia on Friday, August 9th.
