U.S. women’s basketball cruises past Australia and into semifinals

breanna-stewart-team-usa.jpgTeam USA is on to the semifinals of the women’s basketball tournament at the Tokyo Olympics. It got there in emphatic fashion with a 79-55 win over Australia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday morning to run its incredible Olympic winning streak to 53 games.

Slow starts had been a theme for Team USA in Tokyo, as it trailed after the first quarter in all three of its group stage games. There was no such issue against Australia, however. Whether it was the loss to the Opals in a pre-Olympics exhibition game, or just a desire to put some shaky early performances behind them, the Americans came out looking like they had something to prove.

Using a 17-0 run in the middle of the opening frame, during which they held Australia scoreless for over five minutes, the Americans jumped out to a 26-12 lead after the first quarter and didn’t look back. Save for a few possessions in the second quarter, Team USA led by double digits the rest of the way, and was on cruise control for the entire second half.

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