The United States women's basketball team arrived at the Olympic Games with one goal: to win a seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal. From five-time Olympians Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, to six athletes competing in their first Summer Games, the roster includes six players. Some of the first-timers have contributed greatly to this year's success. Everyone was able to participate in Friday's semifinal victory over Serbia, 79-59.There's still one more test to be done: Saturday's Olympic final at 10:30 p.m. ET) against Japan or France. Are the Americans in cruise control or will nerves still be a problem?There might not be much more nerves with the big prize so close, especially for those who have never stood on an Olympic podium. The U.S. women won both Friday's victory over Australia in the quarterfinals and Friday's win.They did have some offensive lapses that will keep Dawn Staley's eyes and those of the players alert, as they haven’t yet crossed the finish line.Bird stated, "I believe that since we entered the knockout round, we have come to each match with a bit more focus." You can see the results. It's most evident that it starts on the defensive side, and we just carry that over to the offensive.USA Basketball is a team that works together to improve our game every day. "I still believe there's another level that we can reach and I hope that's what happens [in the gold-medal] game."This is a look back at the semifinals, and the final.More players are confidentA'ja Wilson is one of the top players at the tournament and doesn't look like an Olympic first-timer. It could be a memorable 25th birthday celebration for her, as she will be competing for gold.Wilson didn't have as many points for the Americans on Friday. She scored just nine points, which was her lowest score in Tokyo. After being on court for just 15 minutes vs. Australia, she played only 18 minutes against Serbia. Wilson will therefore be fresh for the final.Chelsea Gray, another first-timer, scored 14 points Friday on 5/6 field shooting. After a quarterfinals performance of eight assists, it was her highest scoring performance at the Olympics.Bird joked that Gray was an Olympic "rookie" just before the U.S. women went to Japan. Gray has been in the WNBA seven seasons and has won a league title. She also has experience playing overseas. Gray is playing in her first Olympic tournament. That's something that's unmatched. The Americans are happy that Gray and Wilson look so good heading into the final.Did we mention defense enough times?In their short training time, the U.S. women repeatedly stated that once they started to get together, this team would be a defense force. Although it took until the medal round before it was dominant, it is now just as expected.ResultsSerbia is not an offensive juggernaut in Tokyo. The Serbs scored 77 points against China in their quarterfinal victory. This was their highest score for the tournament. Team USA kept Serbia at 30.3% shooting from field and 21.1% (4 out of 19) behind the arc.Staley stated that Serbia's team was unable to look clean because of the difficulties they faced.Stewart and Griner continue to win bigBrittney Griner and Breanna Stewart were Olympic rookies in 2016. But they have looked like veteran veterans in Tokyo. They have both disappeared briefly during the tournament. They've been the most difficult forces to stop overall.Both scored double-doubles in Serbia against Griner and Stewart: Griner had 15 points and 12 rebound, while Stewart had 12 and 10.Griner stated, "I think we're going to see some really great basketball in the gold-medal game." "I love the intensity, it's tradition. People return to the USA program because of its culture.Nearly complete is the drive for fiveBird and Taurasi don't want these Olympics to be more about them than the rest. They know that the focus is inevitable, considering their history as the first players to win five gold medals in basketball.To be ready for Tokyo, Taurasi had to overcome injury. While she acknowledged Friday that her hip was a little sore, Taurasi never loses her confidence. She did not score in the 12.5-minutes of play time on Friday, but she had four assists, one of which was a no-look to Stewart, and one of her best assists at the Olympics.Bird, who had problems with her shot in the Games earlier, has not had any issues in the medal round. Bird was 3-4 from the field against Australia and Serbia for 17 points. She also had nine assists.
