The United States women's basketball team showed why they're the No. 1 ranked team in the world on Friday morning with another dominant performance. They beat Serbia 79-59 in the semifinals to advance to the gold medal game at the Tokyo Olympics and run their historic Olympics winning streak to 54 games.
After an even first couple of minutes, Team USA went on a 7-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish. They led 26-12 after the first quarter, and save for a brief portion of the second, they maintained that double-digit advantage for the rest of the way. Much like the quarterfinal against Australia, the game was out of hand for the entire second half.
It wasn't the prettiest offensive display Team USA has ever had, but it was more than good enough with the way they were playing defense. This was a truly elite defensive performance from the Americans, as they flew around in passing lanes, protected the paint and largely disrupted everything Serbia was trying to do. They held Serbia to just 59 points on 30 shooting from the field, and forced 12 turnovers. If it wasn't for a strong effort on the offensive glass, in which they earned 10 second-chance points, the outcome would have been even worse for Serbia.
As per usual, Team USA worked inside-out and were led by the frontcourt. Brittney Griner continued her strong play in Tokyo with 15 points and 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the tournament. Breanna Stewart added a double-double of her own with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Chelsea Gray came off the bench to put up 14 points in her best performance so far.
Now, Team USA will play for a historic seventh straight gold medal on Saturday against the winner of the second semifinal between France and Japan. Team USA has already beaten both of those teams in the group stage, and that was when they were still trying to figure some things out. With the way they've played since the knockout stage began, Team USA will be massive favorites to win it all no matter who they have to play.
