Olympics 2020: US Women Face Old Foes in Basketball Quarters

Much like their male counterparts, the US women are right on track in the Olympics 2020 women’s basketball tournament. Despite not being as dominant as they have been in the past, they will still head into the quarter-finals as the favourites to claim yet another Olympic gold medal.

And like the men, their quarter-final foes are a team they’ve faced and beaten for gold on numerous occasions in past Olympics: Australia.

Elsewhere, the impressive Chinese team will face off against Serbia, and hosts Japan take on Belgium to keep their medal hopes alive.

Read on below as SBOTOP previews all four women’s basketball quarter-final matchups.

Australia vs United States

Team USA took care of business in the group stage with three wins out of three, but surprisingly, all three games were quite competitive heading into the final quarter.

As US coach Dawn Staley sees it, other countries are finally starting to catch up to the US, who can no longer expect to dominate like they did in past Olympics.

Nevertheless, the Olympics 2020 odds still have the talented US women team favoured to win in the tournament. WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson has led the way, averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, while storied Olympian Sue Bird continues to contribute as she goes in search of her fifth gold medal.

The US are now set to take on Australia, whom they beat in three consecutive gold-medal games in 2000, 2004, and 2008.

The Aussie women are not the same force they were in the past, though. They won just one of three games during the group stage and qualified as the best of the third-placed teams. Although, they did very nearly beat China in their second group game.

21-year-old Ezi Magbegor is having an excellent tournament with 15 points and 5 rebounds per game. The Seattle Storm forward will likely be the Aussies’ biggest scoring threat against the Americans, but the big question will be whether she gets enough support.

China vs Serbia

China have made a great start in their quest to win their first Olympic medal in women’s basketball since 1992. The Chinese women won all three group games with a +56 point differential, the highest of all teams.

Although, that number was significantly padded by their 42-point pounding of Puerto Rico. They had a scare against Australia, but they bounced back to beat Belgium by 12 points in their final group game.

Centre Li Yueru has starred for the Chinese, averaging team-highs 15.7 points and 9 rebounds per game. Li will like her chances of continuing her dominance against quarter-final opponents Serbia.

Serbia finished second in Group A, losing only to group winners Spain. US-born point guard Yvonne Anderson (13 PPG, 6 RPG) will run the show for the Serbs.

However, they do not have reliable scoring elsewhere on the team, which was why they finished as the lowest-scoring team to make the quarter-finals and the only team with a negative point differential.

With China’s superior offensive weapons with Li Yueru and others, they should have enough firepower to overcome the Serbs and make it to the semis.

Japan vs Belgium

Hosts Japan went a respectable 2-1 in group play, losing only to the mighty US. The Japanese showed off some impressive firepower and were the only team in the group stage to top 100 points in their 102-83 win over Nigeria.

Star guard Saki Hayashi has starred with 15.7 points per game, with centre Maki Takada adding 13.3 points. Both will be crucial if they are to replicate the men’s football team in reaching the semi-finals.

But the hosts have not exactly been stellar defensively, which could prove to be a big problem against Belgium and star Emma Meesseman. The 28-year-old has creating Olympics 2020 highlights all tournament long; she’s the leading scorer with 27.3 points per game and is also adding 10.3 rebounds.

The Japanese are significantly lacking in size – their tallest players are only 6-foot-1, so the 6-foot-4 Meesseman will likely dominate in the paint once again.

Spain vs France

Spain’s Astou Ndour is just behind Meesseman in the scoring charts with 22.7 points per game to lead her team to a perfect 3-0 record in the preliminary stage.

The 26-year-old has also had a lot of support in the form of point guard Cristina Ouvina (12 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists), forward Alba Torrens (13.3 points), and centre Laura Gil (8.7 points, 9.7 rebounds).

France have their own dynamic duo of centre Sandrine Gruda (14.7 points, 8 rebounds) and forward Endene Miyem (13.5 points, 5 rebounds), who will give the Spanish a tough battle inside.

This battle between the two European heavyweights could come down to the guard play. And with Ouvina in excellent form in these Olympics, the Spanish should have a significant edge in that matchup.

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