Team USA women’s basketball team entered an environment inside Pierre Mauroy Stadium Thursday they normally aren’t accustomed to.
The men’s and women’s basketball teams are usually the darlings and crowd favorites when playing in international competitions.
And that wasn’t the case for Team USA’s second Group C game against Belgium.
This time, Breanna Stewart and company were the “road team.” The arena — which holds close to 29,000 fans — was filled with hopeful Belgian fans supporting a team that played just minutes away from the France-Belgium border.
“They’re just a really good team,” starter Diana Taurasi said. “A really, really good team. They probably are one of the best teams in the world. I mean it’s great you know, I think that it just shows how much they love basketball in Europe.”
And that raucous crowed willed Belgium to a first-quarter spark that included seven points from guard Julie Vanloo. But even with the outburst, America’s five early turnovers and a slow start from WNBA MVP frontrunner A’ja Wilson, Belgium held just a four-point lead and ended the opening period tied.
That’s because there are levels to this. One team has the WNBA’s last two MVP award winners and the other doesn’t.
Stewart made sure to never let her team fall too far behind in Thursday’s 87-74 victory over Belgium. She outpaced Vanloo’s scoring spark with 11 first-quarter points and had 15 by halftime. She started the game 6-for-6 before finally misfiring with just over two minutes before halftime.
The Liberty star finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Wilson’s slow started didn’t continue for too long as she totaled 23 points, 13 rebounds and three steals.
“You just want to go out there and play your best game,” Wilson said. “And I think we did that. I think on the defensive end, it was a great showing and I love when the crowd goes against us. I feel like that is a beautiful thing about our game is playing in those atmospheres and proving people wrong. Wanting to hush the crowd a little bit. So I’m glad we were able to execute that.”
Once again, the frontcourt leaders were brilliant. And they led their team to a spot into next week’s knockout round.
The Americans went up eight at halftime after dealing with a much more physical — and taller — team they saw in the first group stage game against Japan.
Belgian forward Emma Meesseman’s 6-4 frame did damage in the paint on both sides. Coupled with fellow 6-4 big Kyara Linskens, and the playmaking of guards Antonia Delaere and Vanloo, Belgium posed as the first real test against an American squad touted as heavy favorites for their eighth straight gold medal.
To offset some of Belgium’s success, Team USA head coach Cheryl Reeve relied on Swiss Army Knife Alyssa Thomas for the entire second quarter and for spurts in the second half. Her disruptive defense saw the Americans outscore their opponents by 16 points in Thomas’ 16 minutes of action.
While Thomas played her role, the team locked down Vanloo. After her seven-point first (six shots), she managed just four points on four shots for the rest of the game.
USA’s adjustments worked and their stars took care of business. The reserves did as well. Thomas and Jewell Loyd scored eight points apiece. Britney Griner and Sabrina Ionescu scored seven and six points, respectively, as the Americans won in that department, 31-11.
Meesseman, a two-time WNBA All-Star, scored a team-high 24 points while Delaere contributed 16 points and eight assists. Vanloo dished five assists of her own.
Team USA dominated on the boards, 49-27, in the win.
They didn’t falter in the hostile environment. And to add injury to insult, Ionescu shushed the crowd after draining a trey in the final seconds of garbage time. The pro-Belgian crowd quickly responded with jeers for the Liberty star.
Now, with the knockout stage already booked, the Americans will face their toughest test yet against Germany to wrap up Group C play on Sunday.
With News Wire Services
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