Paris Olympics: US women recover from 10-point third-quarter deficit to win eighth straight basketball gold

PARIS — The dynasty is flourishing. Victory didn’t come easy, but it did. Team USA women’s basketball won its eighth straight gold medal by beating France 67-66 in the final competition of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. A’ja Wilson led the United States with 21 points, and the United States won only when Gabby Williams’ foot was on the line for a potential game-tying 3-point shot.

The floor of the Bercy Arena still bore scorch marks from where Steph Curry had caught fire on Saturday night, leading Team USA to a victory over the French men’s team. The host nation was no more successful in the women’s pool, but kept the United States on edge until the final seconds of the match.

The United States entered a starting lineup of Chelsea Gray, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Jackie Young and Wilson. Perhaps it was gold medal nerves, but neither team was particularly sharp in the opening minutes of the game, with turnovers, poor shot selection and sloppy play on both ends of the court.

France, by both chance and design, managed to overthrow the United States’ two main drivers: a stifling defense and a pass-happy offense. Early on, the French were simply faster on offense than the American defense, moving the ball and cutting to the basket in a way that was distinctly American. On the other end of the court, France’s chaotic defense forced the United States into far too many easy early turnovers. But experience has a way of winning, as does sheer physicality, and by the end of one quarter, the United States led 6, 15-9.

Celebrity Row on the American side of the court was filled with gold medalists including LeBron James, Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, Scottie Pippen and Lisa Leslie. The second quarter saw an American team that too often ended up in one-on-one offensive matchups or failed to grab defensive rebounds, and if France had been able to make the occasional open three-pointer, the United States would have been in big trouble. As it was, France tied the score at 20 with 4:17 left in the half.

With the shot clock winding down and 2:45 left in the first half, France’s Marine Fathoux did her best Steph Curry imitation, sinking a near-logo three-pointer that tied the score and kept the home crowd engaged. A few bad fouls and some sharp defense dented the U.S. spirits, and the teams went into halftime tied at 25.

The halftime stats weren’t pretty. Wilson went 2 of 9 field goals in the first half and 2 of 4 line points; Stewart shot even worse percentage-wise, 1 of 6. Overall, Team USA shot 29 percent, France 28 percent. The key stat: France scored 12 points off the Americans’ 13 turnovers in the first half.

The second half started much as the first half ended — with France outscoring the United States and the Americans missing easy shots in the paint and putbacks. France scored the first 10 points of the second half to force the United States into an early stop-the-bleeding timeout and quick desperation mode.

Plum finally put the United States on the board nearly four minutes into the second half with a three-pointer, and Wilson turned a steal into a quick layup seconds later to bring some sanity back to the United States. Plum added another three shortly after, and in just over a minute, the United States had cut France’s lead from 10 to 2.

And then the inevitable happened. The U.S. shots started falling, France began to struggle, and with 2:31 left in the third period, Collier chipped away at France’s last remaining lead. Collier put the U.S. up 41-40 with a wide-open layup under the basket that the Americans had been unable to capture all afternoon. The third quarter ended with the U.S. up 45-43 after a 20-8 run.

With gold on the line, the fourth quarter turned physical, with players from both teams colliding and landing hard on the ground. France held a two-point lead with 4:35 to go, and the game was tied with less than four minutes to go. The United States took the lead for good with a Stewart free throw with 3:45 to go, shaking off a few more French attacks.

Sunday’s win ends another remarkable streak for the U.S. women’s team. Team USA had won every game by double digits en route to the gold medal game, and the steep third quarter the Americans overcame is a testament to the team’s resilience.

The U.S. women’s national team has not lost a match since losing to a unified Soviet Union team in the semifinals in Barcelona on August 5, 1992. Only three members of the U.S. team — Taurasi, Alyssa Thomas and Brittney Griner — were alive when that loss occurred. No American under the age of 32 has ever seen the U.S. women’s national team lose a match at the Olympics.

This latest gold medal also has a significant symbolic impact on these Games. It is the 40th gold medal won by the United States, making Team USA tied with China for the most gold medals won by a country. Team USA holds a significant lead in total medals, with a 125-91 lead over China.

For the women’s team, Team USA, there’s no reason to think this gold medal trend won’t continue into the foreseeable future. Women’s basketball doesn’t have the same international talent pool as the men’s game. So the United States will be heavy favorites to win another gold heading into Los Angeles 2028 … but gold-medal games like this will likely keep the Americans from assuming the medal is theirs before the Olympics begin.