U.S. Women’s Basketball Team Beats Japan In Olympic Opener : NPR

Team USA’s Brittney Griner (15) played in her first international basketball game since being detained in Russia. She helped the U.S. women’s team beat Japan in the opening group game on Monday as the United States seeks an unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal.

Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images

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Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images

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PARIS – The U.S. women’s basketball team extended its historic winning streak Monday in Lille.

It wasn’t tight.

Team USA, which now has 56 consecutive Olympic victories, easily beat Japan 102-76. A’ja Wilson led the charge for Team USA with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Breanna Stewart added 22 points and eight rebounds.

“We always say the most physical team usually wins, so we had to come out of the game and establish ourselves on the stage that we’re on, and I thought we did a good job today,” Wilson said after the game.

The last time the United States met Japan for the gold medal was three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics. In that game, the United States won 90-75 to win its seventh consecutive gold medal. Now, the U.S. team is looking to win its eighth consecutive gold medal.

The match also marked the return to international competition of Brittney Griner, who was imprisoned in Russia. She was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug trafficking. But in December 2022, she was released as part of a prisoner swap negotiated by the Biden administration.

After her release, she said she would never play overseas again unless she represented the United States in the Olympics. In Monday’s game, Griner scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

“I honestly think it was amazing for BG to be back at the Olympics,” Stewart said of her teammate. “Everything she does going forward, the way she carries herself, being here, being overseas, being a dominant force down there, I’m really proud of her.”

The American team will then face Belgium on Thursday.