Sports

U. S. women's hoops squashes Nigeria, gets to Olympic partially

.Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior Citizen WriterAug 7, 2024, 05:28 PM ETCloseESPN.com NBA author because 2010.Covered Cleveland Cavs for 7 years.Writer of two booksPARIS-- The combo of A'ja Wilson and also Breanna Stewart has actually shown to be a devasting combination for the Staff United States ladies, to the point where there is actually a situation creating that they can share the Olympics Many Valuable Gamer Award.But there is actually a brand new duo arising, though not an astonishing one, that is actually confirmed to be a major boost as the Americans pursue one more gold medal.Las Vegas Aces teammates Kelsey Plum and also Jackie Young have actually improved to become difference-makers in France and also played vital duties in Group U.S.A.'s 88-74 triumph over Nigeria in the quarterfinals.It marked the crew's 59th consecutive Olympic triumph and also puts together a semifinal competition against Australia, winners over Serbia Wednesday, on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.Jackie Young completed with double-digit points for the 2nd upright video game, shooting 60% coming from the industry in the USA' draw Nigeria. CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockCoach Cheryl Reeve moved Young into the starting sequence in place of expert Diana Taurasi versus Nigeria, a group understood for playing higher stress full-court self defense that tests setting against guards.It was a perks after Youthful racked up 19 points along with 4 steals off the bench in the final swimming pool play activity against Germany. She answered along with another outstanding efficiency, having fun with power at both points together with an additional Aces teammate, Chelsea Gray, in the backcourt.Young racked up 15 aspects as well as aided hold the united state outburst early in the activity as the Americans got off to a little bit of a lethargic beginning by their standards.Nigeria was behind by just 4 aspects midway with the second fourth. That's when Reeve went to Plum, who was actually the 12th and last player to enter into the game for the Americans. Plum immediately modified the game with her passing away as well as speed on the repulsive point, dispensing 3 simple aids and toenailing a 3-pointer. Plum finished with only six aspects but her six-minute shift to end up the 1st half resulted in a plus-11 on the scoreboard to press the result in 19 at fifty percent. The USA after that started the second one-half on a 15-0 run and also the anxiety was provided for the evening.Editor's Picks1 RelatedWilson and also Stewart, who entered the activity balancing a matching 20.3 scores per video game, played their brand name of seasoned tormenter sphere. Wilson invested 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting along with 11 rebounds and pair of blocks. Stewart possessed thirteen points on 5-of-7 shooting with 5 rebounds and also 3 assists.Brittney Griner came off the seat to score 11 ideas on 4-of-5 firing. Those 3 interior markers combining for 16-of-21 is difficult to beat.The united state got into the video game balancing 29 supports and once more put on a ball-sharing facility through constructing 31 more.Promise Amukamara led Nigeria, which cut the lead to as low as 13 in the 4th quarter, with 19 scores. The video game finished along with a little bit of edge when the USA's Kahleah Copper acquired a technical repulsive for throwing the ball at Nigeria's Ezinne Kalu after she racked up in the last seconds.

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