The US women’s team duplicated the feat of the US men’s team by winning the gold. The team defeated Australia and the win is not only significant for the team but significant as well to one of its players, Lisa Leslie. This was yet another memorable Olympic run for Lisa Leslie. She is the only athlete to win four gold medals and she is also undefeated at the games. The last loss that was suffered by the team was in 1992 and after that time the US women’s team romped to 33-0 in the Olympic Games.
Lisa Leslie made sure that the team will get the win and the gold by scoring 14 points. But Leslie fouled out with 6:33 left in the gold medal match. By this time it didn’t mattered as the team has already the game on its side. The win by the team also brought the total to 26 current and former WNBA players who have earned their medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The WNBA was heavily represented on the games for this Beijing edition, with 39 current and former players on many teams that participate in the games. These players from the league participated for 10 to 12 countries in Beijing.
The win was also significant for Anne Donovan who became the first female to win the gold medal as a player and also led a team to gold as its head coach. The accomplishment by Leslie effectively ties that of Teresa Edwards as winning the most ever gold medals in women’s basketball. Leslie earned her gold in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 and Edwards on the other hand earned her gold in 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000 and another bronze in 1992.
The 2008 season of the WNBA will resume play on August 28.
The US women’s basketball team passed the first crucial test in the Beijing competition in a close competition. The US team beat Russia in the semifinals and the team is now primed up for its fourth straight gold medal game. It was a close game Thursday night with a score of 67-52.
The game against the Russian women has been the toughest test yet for the women’s team. Before the game with Russia, Team US had been averaging 99.2 points through their first six games and the winning margin is pegged at 43 points per game. And just before the game against the Russians the closest the competition got was when Spain managed to score well and the US team led by only 5 at the half.
But the team from Russia proved to be a worthy competition for the likes of Diana Taurasi and Tina Thompson. The results of team Russia had been varied and their games and results during pool play won’t suggest that they are contenders. In fact when the Russian team played Spain, the Russian trailed Spain by 18 in the first half before posting an 84-65 win.
The Russian team started the match well and for the next 23 minutes, Team Russia played toe to toe with the US team. Russia took a 38-33 lead as well after the shot made by Maria Stepanova early in the third quarter. But at that point the US team turned to serious business and scored the next 12 points. The next 12 points came from Thompson, three pointers from Smith and Taurasi, and layups coming from Thompson and Leslie.
The scoring drought for Russia was ended by Stepanova again with a foul line jumper and it was the last point that they have scored in the third quarter. Stepanova was Russia’s lead scored with 14 points and is set to play China for the bronze.
The US women’s basketball team is into the semifinals. Sylvia Fowles led the charge for the US team in the 104-60 rout against South Korea. Fowles made 26 points from the field and added another 14 rebounds. The win by the US team is the sixth Olympics that they have advanced to the medal round. The last time that the US women’s basketball team failed to qualify for the semifinals of the Olympics was in 1980 and this was the time when the US boycotted the Moscow Games.
With the win, the American women will face Russia in the semifinals. In the other semifinal game, China will play Australia. Russia advanced to the semifinals after winning over Spain 84-65. Tatiana Shchegoleva led the Russian team and scored 19 points. Australia on the other hand was led by Lauren Jackson who made 17 points and another 12 rebounds and beat Czech Republic. China on the other hand defeated Belarus for a place in the semifinals.
The win by the US women’s team was the team’s 31st straight games since the team’s losing effort in the semifinals against the Unified Team in the 1992 Olympics. The win against South Korea was their 5th straight Beijing games and all their wins were fashioned in a spectacular way. The only exception was in the game against Czech Republic where the Team US trailed in the first three minutes 13-2 before it went on to win the match by 40 points. The US Team also encountered rough sailing against Spain as they only led by five after the half. But after the halftime break, the team posted an easy 38 point victory.
The South Korean squad made an impression at the first quarter behind their hot shooting, and shot 59 percent from the field and at the end of the first quarter they were only behind by four. The start of the second quarter was different as Fowles started the charge.
It was the turn of the US Women’s team. The US team scored a decisive victory against China and with that win, US started its hunt for the gold medal. It was a sweet redemption for the US Women team, since the last two teams met, China took home the gold in a tournament held in Beijing last April.
The tournament that was held in April was an event to baptize the new Olympic Basketball Gymnasium and the team of China featured most of the Chinese Olympians. The Chinese team dealt the US team a three-point loss. The US team that participated at that even included four US Olympians that include Fowles, Kara Lawson, Lisa Leslie and Katie Smith. US center Fowles said;
They’re not going to do that to us again.
Tina Thompson made sure that the set-back will not happen again as she led the team in a big 108-63 win against China. Most of the points of Thompson were scored in the huge run that happened as the first quarter is about to end. The run set the tone for the big blow-out. The team led as much as 45 points and finished with a respectable 56.8 percent from the field. Lisa Lesli added 10 points for the team and Candace Parker added another 12 points.
Center Sylvia Fowles added 18 points and another eight rebounds. The win by the American women was their 27th straight in the Olympics and this year the team is attempting to seek their fourth straight Olympic gold medal.
Miao Lijie was the top scorer for the Chinese team and Chen Nan submitted another 14 points to lead China’s charge. The result against China left United States as the only unbeaten team in Group B.
On Sunday, the men’s US team set the tone as the team won over host China in the widely watched match.
Two Olympic gold medalists, Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever) and DeLisha Milton-Jones (Los Angeles Sparks), with Kara Lawson (Sacramento Monarchs) are already part of the USA Women’s Basketball Olympic Team to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The trio round out the official 12-member USA roster, hoping to defend the USA’s string of three consecutive Olympic gold medals. The selections were made by the USA Basketball Women’s Senior National Team Committee, chaired by WNBA chief of basketball operations and player relations - Reneé Brown.
“The committee had a difficult time with these final three names because of the level of talent in our pool,” Brown said. “However, ultimately we feel that the experience and leadership that we’ve added to the team in Tamika Catchings, DeLisha Milton-Jones and Kara Lawson are the final pieces to this puzzle. Tamika and DeLisha both know what it takes to be Olympic champions and will help this team defensively. Kara is a tremendous team player who made the most of her opportunities during the FIBA Americas Championship and over the past year has proven herself as a member of this team.” the chairman added.
Tamika is such a complete player and a tenacious defender while DeLisha’s international and Olympic experience can surely fortify the inside game. Lawson, on the other hand, . got an extensive experience training with the national team on the last several years, which will make her so dependable on her future games.
Fans are already keeping their eyes on these trio. The suspense gets more intense today. Let’s see what’ll happen on August.
