August 20, 2016
THAT DAY...............................U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team won their sixth consecutive gold medal by defeating Spain 101–72 in the final.
The United States Women's Team represents the United States Basketball Federation.
The Americans, with five gold medalists in Seoul, and four world champions two years earlier, are the big favorites at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics25. However, opposed to the players of the Unified Team, which succeeds the USSR during this competition, the Americans lost in the semifinal on the score of 79 to 7326. This defeat puts an end to a series of fifteen victories consecutive Olympic Games. The American players won the bronze medal by defeating Cuba. The Americans concede a new failure in the next international competition with a 110 to 107 defeat in the semifinal against Brazil, future winner of the competition. A 100-95 win gives the Americans a new bronze medal.
In May 1995, the selection committee nominated a group of 27 players who were preparing from November 1995 to at the Atlanta Games29. Some of these players are giving up more lucrative contracts in Europe to be part of this selection. During the Olympic tournament, the Americans beat Australia in the semi-finals and then won the score of 111 to 87 against Brazil in the final. On the overall tournament, they scored on average 28.6 points more than their opponents, The best scorer of the tournament is Lisa Leslie. After reclaiming the Olympic title, the Americans aim to regain the world title lost four years earlier. At this world, they rely on Lisa Leslie, 17.1 points and 8.8 rebounds averages, and the presence of five Olympic champions Atlanta to remain unbeaten on the competition. They beat Brazil 93-79 in the semi-finals and Russia 71-65 in the final match.
The domination had started from this point……..
on 20 August 2016 , Team USA defeated Spain 101-72 Saturday at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games to win its sixth straight gold medal in women’s basketball and a record eighth overall in the 10 Olympic Games in which the United States has participated. By scoring more than 100 points in six of its eight games, this edition of Team USA is the most prolific Olympic scoring machine, exceeding the five 100-point games in 1996, the year the United States began its two decades of Olympic dominance.
“Tonight was a good game,” Whalen said. “Spain is a tough team. They really pushed us. We worked hard this month to get to this point, really our whole lives to get here. We’re glad we played well tonight.” The break was made in the second quarter with 3's from Sue Bird and Taurasi, and suffocating defense. USA finished with a 12-6 to go ahead 49-32 at halftime. Maya Moore scored nine points in the second half , while the U.S. defense was more and more impressive. Moore also finished with six assists. The USA was hot in the third quarter, and it held Spain to 33.3 percent from the field. The game was already over.
“I’m pretty sad it’s over, but if it had to end, it ended the right way,” said Elena Delle Donne, one of only three newcomers on the team with nine players returning from the previous Olympic Games or before. “I, for sure, didn’t want to be the first to not get that gold medal,” Delle Donne added, “but that was never the focus, which was why these older players were so great. It was always just about this team, nothing about the past. What they’ve achieved, that’s never going to be taken from them. And what this team has achieved is what this team did together.”
Team USA, from that bronze-medal game at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games have won 49 consecutive games in the Olympics, with only one of those decided by single digits.
Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings and Diana Taurasi won their fourth consecutive gold medals, joining Team USA legends Lisa Leslie and Teresa Edwards, who also have four gold medals in women’s basketball (Edwards also has a bronze). Only five other female athletes in various sports have claimed four titles in the same event.
It wasn’t as easy as sometimes it looked, these last two games especially with France and today against Spain,” Auriemma continued. “These are very good teams that we’re playing, and you could see that it wasn’t just a cake walk, that it was a struggle. Then finally, because of our depth and because of the experience on our team, we were able to separate ourselves
Winning the sixth straight gold, said Taurasi, is “just setting the bar so high. I hope the next crop of kids know how hard this has been. You do have history, you do have the pressure of everyone who plays basketball on your back. Because that’s what you need to be great. é
"It's amazing, isn't it? I mean, when you think, that's 20 years ..." Auriemma said. "You know the first one was '96, and here we are, 2016. It's mind-boggling when you think about it, .."
No American team has been deeper with Catchings as its 12th player. They trailed for just over 11 minutes in the entire Olympics, and the biggest deficit was just four points -- 6-2 to France. They never were down after the first quarter, and with the exception of the semifinal win over France, all the games were pretty much decided after 20 minutes.
All is summed up in that sentence from Delle Donne who grew up watching what became the next generation of veterans, especially Taurasi. “I idolized her greatly,” she said. “She’s a big reason why I fell in love with the game. There were just moments in that game (against Spain) where I had to just shake my head and smile at what she was doing. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is what I watched way back when and now I’m suited up next to her.’
To know more about the subject:
FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
Games of the XXVIIIth Olympiad – 2008". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
U.S. women win 5th gold in row". ESPN.com news services. August 11, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
Fifteenth World Championship For Women – 2006". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
Games of the XXVIIIth Olympiad – 2004". Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
Fourteenth World Championship For Women – 2002". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
Sue Bird Biography". JockBio. October 16, 1980. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
Taurasi becomes WNBA all-time leading scorer". ESPN.com. June 18, 2017.
