A’ja Wilson scored 22 points and Breanna Stewart added 17 to help the U.S. beat France 93-82 on Monday. The win was the 52nd in a row for the U.S. dating back to the bronze medal game of the 1992 Olympics. The U.S. went undefeated in group play — albeit not in the dominant fashion the team is used to — and advanced to the quarterfinals.
The Americans (3-0) haven’t lost a game in group play since women’s basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976. Even with the loss, France (1-2) advanced to the quarterfinals because of point differential with the other third-place teams. The team had to lose by 14 points or less to advance.
Both teams will find out later Monday night who they will play in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. France scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to take a 72-71 lead before the U.S. answered with 12 of the next 14 points to go up 83-74 with 5:45 left. Wilson had six points during the run. Tina Charles’ 3-pointer made it 87-77, giving the U.S. its first double-digit lead of the game. France could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
