In Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France, the U.S. women’s basketball team secured a spot in the Olympic quarterfinals by defeating Belgium 87-74 on Thursday night. Breanna Stewart led the American squad with 26 points, while A’ja Wilson contributed 23 points and 13 rebounds. The victory extended the U.S.’s Olympic winning streak to 57 games, a streak that dates back to the 1992 Barcelona Games. This win over Belgium was a challenging one, with only three of their Olympic victories being by single digits.
Despite facing a vocal and supportive pro-Belgium crowd, mainly comprised of the 25,044 spectators in attendance, the U.S. managed to hold off Belgium’s challenge. The two teams had previously met in a pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in February, where the U.S. narrowly secured a win with a buzzer-beating tip-in from Stewart.
Belgium proved to be a formidable opponent once again, reducing the U.S.’s early 13-point lead to just eight at halftime. The American team managed to regain control in the second half, with Napheesa Collier’s contributions pivotal in maintaining their lead. Belgium fought back, with Emma Meesseman scoring 24 points and Antonia Delaere adding 16, but it was not enough to overcome the U.S. team’s dominant performance.
With this win, the U.S. team, now 2-0, will face Germany in their final pool play game on Sunday. Meanwhile, Belgium, at 0-2, needs a victory against Japan to have a chance at advancing to the elimination round. In other Thursday matches, Germany and France secured their spots in the quarterfinals with wins over Japan and Nigeria, respectively. Australia also emerged victorious against Canada to keep their hopes of advancement alive.
