Women’s basketball: France to fight with USA for Gold

Jewell Joyd from Team USA Basketball. GETTY IMAGES

The hosts France defeated Germany 73-69 on Thursday 8 August to reach the final of the Olympic men’s basketball and will face four-time reigning champions the United States for gold.

Using fastbreaks and the transition game, the United States upended Australia 85-64 in the first women’s basketball semi-final at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 this 9 August. With the win, the US will head to the gold medal game, and Australia will play the beaten semi-finalists for the bronze medal.

“I think we continue to play unselfish basketball,” Team USA’s Breanna Stewart said after the game to NBC. “We’re moving the ball, we’re finding the best shot. Really, starting with our defense and scoring as much as we can in transition.

“Knowing that we have depth that nobody else does in this tournament, and making sure that we got where we wanted to be. Now we have one more game to get the gold medal.”

Jackie Young again started, signaling that the United States would be focused on defense in the game, and that defense was effective. They held Australia’s shooting to 36 per cent, and they often turned that defense into offense. The US had 26 points in fastbreaks, and 44 points in the paint.

Young finished with 14 points and two steals. Stewart had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, while A’ja Wilson had 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in just 20:51 on the court. The big lead for the US meant that Wilson and Stewart didn’t have to play as many minutes in the semi-final with the gold medal game on Sunday.

Australia’s bench was active and a big help in the game, scoring 41 of the team’s 64 points. One of the few times they were in the game was in the first quarter. Basketball legend Lauren Jackson checked in and took pressure off Australia’s bigs and give the team more of a shot at scoring. 

It was the 60th straight win for the US team at the Olympics. They are one step closer to winning the country’s eighth-straight Olympic gold medal, and 10th overall.

“It’s absolutely incredible, and I don’t even think I can put it into words what we’ve done with USA Basketball, with this national team. 60 straight wins. This is the standard,” Stewart said. “I knew when I first put that USA jersey on. I knew it was gold, really, or bust. Making sure that every time on the court, off the court, the way we prepare ourselves, we’re trying to be the best that we can be and continue to reach new heights.”

Men’s basketball semis

With blue, white and red flags waving in the stands and cheers blaring around them, France’s players took in the moment. Matthew Strazel erupted in dance. Evan Fournier ripped his jersey off and skipped around. Later, the team gathered in a circle at centre court as fans erupted in an encore of, “Allez Les Bleus!” —to cheer them on.

All because the hosts France defeated Germany 73-69 on Thursday 8 August to reach the final of the Olympic men’s basketball and will face four-time reigning champions the United States for gold.

Guerschon Yabusele led Tokyo silver medallists France with 17 points and Isaia Cordinier added 16. Victor Wembanyama finished with 11 points despite another poor shooting performance. France could meet Team USA on Saturday 10 August in a repeat of the final from three years ago if the heavily favoured Americans get past Nikola Jokic’s Serbia in the second semi-final.

Dennis Schroder led Germany with 18 points. Fritz Wagner was the only other player in double figures for a team that will seek the consolation of a first-ever Olympic medal in the third-place playoff. The Germans moved 28-18 in front after a three from Nick Weiler-Babb to open the second quarter, but France flipped the momentum their way as Wembanyama made his mark.

France ended the half with a flourish and Wembanyama’s dunk tied the game at 33 apiece. Nicolas Batum nailed a three-pointer to put France ahead for the first time to begin the second half, with Yabusele getting into the act as well.

Yabusele, the top scorer with 22 points in the quarter-final victory over Canada, carried his team with a series of baskets, but Schroder replied in equal measure. With the lead switching back and forth in a gripping third quarter, France surged six points clear when Evan Fournier rattled in a shot from beyond the arc.

France went into the final period leading 56-50 and looked to have left Germany in the rearview mirror thanks to a three from Wembanyama followed by a bucket from Mathias Lessort. Germany refused to roll over and France struggled to make the game safe, Wagner netting a long three to slash the deficit to two with just under 40 seconds to play.

Wembanyama missed the chance to ice the game by hitting only one of two free throws, but Cordinier was less forgiving from the foul line as France sealed a return to the final to the delight of the home crowd.

Stephen Curry with USA Coach. GETTY IMAGES
Stephen Curry with USA Coach. GETTY IMAGES

The second match was between USA and Serbia. After suffering a lot, the USA Team goes through to the Olympic final thanks to a stellar Curry. It was a great game by Pesic and Jokic’s Serbia, who have taken another step towards the end of the American domination in the Olympic Games.

They had to dig really, really deep, but 36 points for Steph Curry, a tournament high for Team USA, and a LeBron James triple-double is enough to help them to a 95-91 victory. USA’s players celebrate a huge win and will face hosts France in the final in a repeat of the Tokyo 2020 final. Finally, Serbia will play Germany for bronze.



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