Fan Vote: Who could break the Women's Olympic Basketball single game scoring record?
TOKYO (Japan) - There have been plenty of stellar offensive displays at the Women's Olympic Basketball tournaments during the past 45 years, but will Tokyo see a chart-topping 40 point performance?
TOKYO (Japan) - There have been plenty of stellar offensive displays at the Women's Olympic Basketball tournaments during the past 45 years, but will Tokyo see any new entries onto the all-time scoring chart?
Looking back from the inaugural 1976 edition onwards, the game-high list shows that only five players have ever exceeded 35 points - so there is the lure for somebody in 2021 to maybe make history as the first person to hit the 40-point landmark.
Record holder Evladiya Slavtcheva of Bulgaria fell just one point short in Seoul back in 1988.
Women's Olympic Single-Game Points Leaders
| Position | Player | Edition | Game | Points |
| 1. | Evladiya Slavtcheva (BUL) | 1988 | vs Korea 98-87 | 39 |
| 2. | Miyako Otsuka (JPN) | 1976 | vs Canada121-89 | 38 |
| =3 | Elena Baranova (RUS) | 1996 | vs Japan 80-69 | 37 |
| =3 | Liz Cambage (AUS) | 2016 | vs Japan 92-86 | 37 |
| 4. | Lara Sanders (TUR) | 2016 | vs Japan 76-72 | 36 |
| =5 | Keiko Namai (JPN) | 1976 | vs USA 84-71 | 35 |
| =5 | Lisa Leslie (USA) | 1996 | vs Japan 108-93 | 35 |
| =6 | Evina Maltsi (GRE) | 2004 | vs Japan 93-91 | 33 |
Liz Cambage of Australia had been expected to step out again in Tokyo, with the center having dropped a memorable 37 points against Japan in Rio. However, after her withdrawl it could be her Opals' colleague Bec Allen who carries the scoring load and she is included in our fan vote below, where you have the opportunity to decide which players heading to this year's edition could be the best candidates to catapult themselves into the chart. Allen is joined by the legendary Diana Taurasi of the USA who could roll back the years during her Olympic swansong.
Meanwhile, Saki Hayashi erupted at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament last year in Ostend with eight triples in one game against Belgium. Or what about Emma Meesseman, who lit it up at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket and was the second-highest scorer three years ago at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup? Finally, you might opt to go for the free-scoring Jennifer O'Neill of Puerto Rico who is capable of cutting loose and putting up big numbers? It's time to make your choice!
FIBA