SAITAMA (Japan) -- The U.S. women’s basketball team won a 79-59 win over Serbia to earn a chance at a seventh consecutive gold medal.The Americans had a simple and clear game plan for Serbia. They were the 2016 bronze medalists and won the Eurobasket title. It was focused on setting up their star players.The plan created favorable positions, whether Brittney Griner (who came in shooting 69% from Japan and ended up with 15 points), A'ja Wilson (on the block) or Breanna Stewart (cutting to the rim),The Serbians were fed up by the end of the fourth quarter and decided to foul Griner whenever she got the ball in. Dragana Stankovic, Serbia's forward, slapped Griner in frustration to stop another shot. Griner just smiled annoyedly and shook her head.Dawn Staley, Team USA coach, stated that "We do stress getting [Griner] to the ball." She's in good shape and wants the ball. She is competitive and eager to succeed. When all these things align, you can play your best basketball. She's playing her best Olympic basketball.The U.S. scored 10 points in the paint during the first half (18 for the game), and then tried to run after grabbing stops for easy baskets. Stewart, who is a pro at running the floor, realized she had a speed advantage over the Serbians and ran the floor whenever she could. She was often able to score easy baskets. Stewart finished the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds, as well as three assists.Stewart stated, "This is exactly where you want to be. So now everything is on line." "Right now, there's so much pressure to get seven consecutive [golds] that it's easy to lose sight of what's actually going on and not enjoy being at the Olympics. I think that we did that. We had fun.The fourth-best team 3-point percentage at the Olympics was achieved by Serbia, but they couldn't find any airspace against America's long defenders. The Serbians failed their seven first 3-point attempts and were only 6-of-22 from center court. This helped the USA build an 18-point lead at halftime. Serbia shot just 30% for the game.Chelsea Gray scored 14 points for the Americans who won their 54th consecutive Olympic match.The Americans' day had one problem: Diana Taurasi, a veteran guard, limped off court in the third quarter after suffering a hip injury. She didn't return. Afterward, she said that the injury was something she was managing. She was ready to play Sunday's game.
