On Monday, the USA women’s basketball team won their first game in the 2024 Olympics beating Japan 102-76. Team USA has won 56 straight games at the Olympics dating back to 1992. They are the heavy favorite to take home gold for the eighth straight time.
Size
Team USA owned a massive height advantage against Japan. A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart both measure in at 6-foot-4, which is three inches taller than Japan’s tallest player. Those two combined for 46 points, 21 rebounds, and six blocks.
Brittney Griner, who stands at 6-foot-9, added 11 points and nine rebounds. Even though the Japanese team could stay in the lane and pester Team USA down low (FIBA rules means no defensive three seconds), it did not matter. The height of Team USA was too much for Japan to handle.
Added Motivation
In the stands, a fan cheering for Japan was seen holding a sign that stated “You need Caitlin Clark to beat us.” Some of the players were seen pointing out the sign during warmups. Both Wilson and Griner seem to make comments and have a brief discussion about the sign.
This team does not need any extra motivation as they have heard plenty of Caitlin Clark commentary throughout the process. Many WNBA players have made their feelings toward Clark known, with many of these feelings negative. Clark was not named to the Olympic team as she very recently got drafted and made her WNBA debut. Many fans and media members were calling for her to be on the team nonetheless. Seeing a sign like that before the game was laughable for these proven veterans but also provided an extra bit of motivation.
What’s Next?
Monday’s game against Japan was just a preliminary game before the knockout round. Team USA continues the preliminary round against Belgium on August 1 at 3 p.m. ET. The game will air on USA Network and will also be streaming on Peacock.
The knockout round will begin on August 7 with the gold medal game happening on August 11. Tune in to see if the USA women’s basketball team can take home their eighth straight gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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