Team USA routs Nigeria, advances to semifinal vs. Australia

PARIS — With so little time to prepare as a team ahead of the Olympics, U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve had always said she was going to look at each game as an opportunity to learn more about her players, her team and their chemistry.

With only four practices before the team landed in Paris, this was a group that was, in many ways, always going to need to build the plane as it was taking off. And if Team USA’s 88—74 quarterfinal win over Nigeria was any indicator, then Reeve has certainly not only learned a lot about her team in the first three group stage games but also put them to good use in the knockout stage of the Olympics.

”We going to continue to tweak, tweak, tweak,” Reeve had said after Team USA’s final group stage game. “By the time we get to the end, we’ll probably think we have it figured out and we’ll probably want to play some more games.”

But against Nigeria, the tweaks (and the payoff) were evident from the jump. When the starting five took the floor, six-time Olympian Diana Taurasi — who had started each of the two Olympic tune-up games as well as the three group stage games — turned and walked toward the bench while Jackie Young took the floor in her spot. Given the consistency of Team USA’s starting five during its two Olympic tune-up games and its three group-stage games, it was relatively surprising. But given Young’s performance against Germany in the previous game (game-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers — a particularly good sight for Team USA given the rest of the squad had shot 28 percent through the first three games), it made perfect sense.

“We used the five games … to try to accumulate information about our roster, gave opportunities in different places, and then we said when we got to the medal rounds that we would be locking in on a solid rotation that we want,” Reeve said.

Then, midway through the second quarter, when Nigeria cut Team USA’s lead to just eight, Reeve re-inserted Young, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart alongside Young’s Las Vegas Aces teammates Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson, giving Team USA the same personnel grouping that had been so successful against Germany in the third group stage game — the Aces trio (Wilson, Young, Plum) plus two bigs. Just as they did against Germany — once in the second quarter (a 17-7 run) and once in the third quarter (a 20-7 run) — that core closed out the second quarter on a 17-6 run to give Team USA a 19-point halftime cushion.

Team USA continued to assert its dominance in the second half. However, in the fourth quarter, as Reeve further worked with newer lineups and it became clear that the game was in hand, Nigeria managed to outscore Team USA, 26-12. But, despite those final 10 minutes, the game always felt in hand and Team USA extended the program’s win streak to 59 consecutive games as Olympic stars like LeBron James, Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and Dirk Nowitzki sat courtside.

Four Team USA players finished in double digits including Young (15 points) and Wilson, who collected another double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds), her third of these Games. Of the four Olympic opportunities yet, this game featured the longest stretches of Team USA seeming to look the way Reeve has wanted, with an active defense that prompts an unselfish offense.

“We should always make the next pass to the next guy, to the next person — we have 12 of the best players in the world and everyone has to find a way to contribute. We’ve always found a way to do that,” Taurasi said. “You make the team for a certain reason. But maybe you don’t have to use all those tools. That’s just what USA Basketball is about.”

Team USA’s win ended the historic run by Nigeria. The quarterfinal appearance against the U.S. marked the program’s first-ever appearance in the knockout stage of the Olympics, having only won one Olympic game ever coming into this Games.

Now, Team USA turns its attention to a semifinal matchup with Australia on Friday. Unlike the Nigeria game, there is a tremendous amount of familiarity between the Americans and the Aussies and the Opals’ roster features far more professional talent.

There are six active WNBA players on the Australian roster with deep ties to Team USA — guard Alanna Smith plays for the Minnesota Lynx (which is coached by Reeve), guard Jade Melbourne plays for the Washington Mystics (whose GM is Team USA assistant Mike Thibault), guard Sami Whitcomb and forward Ezi Magbegor are teammates with Jewell Loyd, while Kristy Wallace (Indiana Fever) and Steph Talbot (Los Angeles Sparks) are both familiar scouts for all 12 of the Team USA players. If that weren’t enough, Australia is coached by New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who coaches both Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu in the WNBA.

Australia, which came into the Olympics ranked No. 3 in the world by FIBA, dropped its first game of group play to Nigeria after turning the ball over 26 times. But, in games against Canada and then France (in a must-win game), the Opals turned in two wins to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals. On Wednesday morning, they beat Serbia while shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor.

“They’re playing well,” Reeve said. “They went through a tough stretch in the pool but I think they learned a lot about themselves and from a coaching standpoint, rotations, et cetera, that’s the most valuable thing you learn. I think they’re on the uptick. It’s obviously going to be a very difficult game for us.”