As expected, Team USA achieved their 59th consecutive win against Nigeria in an Olympic quarterfinal matchup at Bercy Arena Wednesday. But how they got there, however, was a bit different than the games play during the group stage.
Jackie Young’s breakout game in the group stage finale against Germany awarded her a spot in the starting lineup in Wednesday’s 88-74 win. The victory booked the United States a trip into the semifinals round against Australia on Friday.
And Team USA head coach Cheryl Reeve — again — benefitted from all the tangibles the Aces superstar brings to her lineup: lockdown defense and efficient shooting.
Young followed up Sunday’s 19-point outing with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with three rebounds and two assists. The only thing she couldn’t do Wednesday was knock down a trey, as she finished the night missing all four of her attempts from downtown.
Young started in place of Diana Taurasi, who got most of her minutes with the second unit. The adjustment paid dividends for both stars: Team USA dominated in minutes Young played with the first unit while Taurasi looked more comfortable flowing with the offense off the bench.
Young started alongside Chelsea Gray, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier. And Taurasi spent most of her first-half minutes Alyssa Thomas, Jewell Loyd, Sabrina Ionescu and Phoenix Mercury teammate Brittney Griner.
Taurasi’s three first-half assists came within the free-flowing offense that dominated Nigeria all night.
She only knocked down one trey before halftime, but Young and the rest of the superstar roster carried Team USA to a 19-point halftime lead.
Young replaced Taurasi to finish the half and ended the second quarter with a sweet no-look pass to Stewart, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds, as the buzzer rang. It capped a half that immediately justified Reeve’s decision to insert Young into the starting lineup. And that dominant play continued in the third, with the Aces superstar contributing to an overall defense that forced Nigeria to miss their first eight shots of the second half.
Nigeria guard Promise Amukamara’s corner trey at the 5:30 mark broke the cold spell, but her team trailed by 26 points at that point. The game was already out of reach for the Nigerians, who trailed by as many as 33 points in the loss.
They outscored the Americans, 26-12, in the fourth as Team USA took their feet off the gas.
Wilson finished with a team-high 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Griner contributed 11 points, three rebounds, one steal and one block. Gray dished four assists to go along with one point. Taurasi shot 1-of-4 from the field and dished four assists. Each member of Team USA scored and Kahleah Copper was the lone American to not record an assist.
Amukamara finished with a team-high 19 points. Amy Okonkwo and Ezinne Kalu scored 17 and 16 points, respectively.
Team USA let off their fireworks before the final period, but Copper fired one last one after tossing the ball at Kalu in the final moments of regulation. The Team USA star didn’t seem to appreciate her opponent choosing to make a layup instead of dribbling out the final seconds of a knockout game already out of reach.
But Copper and her team move on to the semifinal round against Australia while Team Nigeria go home.
After playing under the helm of Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello during the WNBA season, Ionescu and Stewart will now look to eliminate their club coach from Olympic competition for a shot at gold.
