PARIS (France) - The USA gold rush now stands at staggering 10 in total, but they had to work hard for an eighth title in a row and a 67-66 success against France in a never to be forgotten Final in Paris.
The host nation gave them an almighty scare and were even ahead by double-digits during the third quarter and still in contention heading into crunch time.
USA had to launch a comeback and execute down the stretch to preserve their 32-year winning streak that now tallies 61 games.
Meanwhile France will reflect with pride on an amazing performance that almost delivered them a fairytale finish on home soil. They took Olympic silver for a second time, also adding to the bronze they won at Tokyo 2020.
Turning point
France were leading 35-25 early in the third quarter and while there was a long way to go in the game, USA were still in potentially dangerous waters. That is why an immediate 8-0 run in response made it a new game which got them a solid foothold in the contest.
There was huge drama at the end of the game too, with Gabby Williams making a basket on the buzzer for France which looked like it had forced overtime. However, her foot just strayed into two-point range and it was the last act of an incredible match.
Game heroes
A'ja Wilson was the difference-maker. As many of USA's star names struggled to produce, the forward came up with what proved to be a monumental contribution in the contest of this tight and nail-biting game.
Her 21 point and 13 rebound double-double was basically the main reason that USA escaped a shock loss and they will be breathing a huge sigh of relief.
There was also an important contribution from Kahleah Copper who scored buckets in the closing minutes to help seal the deal.
Stats don't lie
USA made life tough for themselves with an uncharacteristic 19 turnovers, some unforced but plenty thanks to the suffocating French defense who grabbed 1o steals. On the flip side, USA prevented fatal damage with limited fast break scores.
Perhaps one of the most staggering stats of the entire tournament was that France put up 36 three-point attempts. That is an eye-popping number, but they only managed to sink 7 of them which is less than 20%.
USA also made 27 free-throws today, the most for a team in an Olympic Final.
Bottom Line
USA have barely had to get out of second gear in this tournament. All of a sudden they were made to dig deeper than they have ever needed to in recent memory to meet expectations. Struggling with the aggressive defense, they leaned heavily on Wilson to force the issue and some will argue they were fortunate to get that top step of the podium again.
France dared to dream and with their exceptional defense, that dream almost became a reality. Since the first day, it always looked like they had the physicality to match USA and so it proved. That meant it boiled down to who could get it done with the game on the line and they only just came up short.
It was a typical French display with no big individual display numbers-wise, but plenty of contributors and expertly led by the irrepressible Gabby Williams. What an effort it was by Les Bleues.
They said
"This was a big one. I feel like the environment really set it up and it showed how our game is going to grow internationally. It was a lot of fun, even if it wasn't the prettiest of games. But sometimes you just have to grind it out. It was an electric atmosphere - everyone felt it and it was a really great one to play in." MVP, A'ja Wilson
"I thought the atmosphere was incredible. As an athlete it is exactly what you want at an Olympics. You want to play the hosts with the atmosphere like it should be. It was really back and forth for us. It was a little bit ugly but no matter what we just want to come out on top. We did that and we go home with this gold and each one is special.
"The 61 wins in a row is impressive, but his one is special just for our group and for what we have accomplished. We respect our opponents every time we get on the court. We have the biggest target on our back. The parity of women's basketball is continuing to grow. We know it is not easy. The fact that this is 8 straight golds is insane, but each one is so different and special - and so hard." USA forward, Breanna Stewart.
"I was just trying to lock in defensively as I knew that getting stops on defense is what was going to win us that game. I wasn't really thinking much [on the late free-throws] but just trying to think about where we were in the game. This is the Olympics - the biggest stage.
France came out and the support for their team was amazing. As a competitor you love these environments and you expect teams to bring it. It feels even better to have to gut the game out like that. To really have to work together. I am proud of this group. We just had to play through the physicality. [On Williams buzzer shot] I was right behind her so I was like' that was never a three!' when she shot it." USA guard, Kahleah Copper.
"The fans were amazing and since the beginning of the tournament they have been behind us the whole time and they pushed us. Even tonight when we were up or we were down, they were behind us and that gave us a lot of energy.
"I am disappointed for sure because losing by one point in a Final is never nice but I think we can be really proud of how we did throughout this whole tournament. Especially tonight as we know how good USA are as a team and being able to compete with them for 40 minutes." French center, Iliana Rupert.
Quick notes
- USA have won their 10th Women’s tournament at the Olympics and won their 8th final in a row, a run that started in 1996. They have extended their current winning streak to 61 games in the competition.
- With only one point separating the teams, this is the narrowest margin in a Final at the Olympics; this is also the second-lowest total of points in a final (133; 130 in Australia v USA in 2000, 54-76) and the first final with both teams scoring fewer than 70 points. - France won their 3rd medal at the Olympics (2 silver in 2012 and 2024, 1 bronze in 2021), a joint-high for a European team, equalling the now defunct Soviet Union (2 gold, 1 bronze). - USA had two players with 10+ rebounds today (A’ja Wilson 13 & Napheesa Collier 11), only the second time it happened in a gold-medal game at the Olympics, after 1984 when Cheryl Miller and Janice Lawrence did it also with the USA, against South Korea. - France missed 29 3-pointers today, the second-most for a team in a game at the Olympics (Japan, 34 misses against USA in the quarter-finals in 2016). - A’ja Wilson (21pts, 13reb) is the 3rd player with more than 20 points and more than 10 rebounds in a gold-medal game at the Olympics and the first one since Candace Parker in 2012 (21pts, 11reb), the only other USA player to achieve that in a final (also Uljana Semjonova in 1980, 27pts 21reb v Bulgaria). - Diana Taurasi has become the first player to win six gold medals at the Olympics (Women or Men). - Gabby Williams scored 19 points today, the best total for a French player in a medal-winning game at the Olympics and her best total in a game in the competition.
FIBA