Gamecocks win gold! Team USA basketball rolls in Tokyo
Team USA has done it once again.
The United States women’s basketball team led by South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley won its seventh Olympic gold medal in a row and earned a 55th straight Olympic basketball victory, defeating the host nation Japan 90-75 in Saturday’s gold medal match.
Staley, who has three Olympic golds as a player, led Team USA to gold in her first time as head coach. She also has been a part of two gold medal teams as an assistant coach. A’ja Wilson, reunited with her former coach for her first Olympics, won the gold medal on her 25th birthday.
“I’m super proud of A’ja,” Staley told reporters in Tokyo. “Obviously from coaching her to being in the Olympics with her and just to see her sure of herself. She told me, ‘I’m not going to let you down, we’re going to win,’ and it’s comforting to know that she really meant it. It came from her and I’m just super happy for her and her parents because that’s one of the things when we were recruiting her that we were able to check off. It’s cool. She’s got more big games in her future. I’m just happy I got to share in her first one.”
Wilson started in the gold medal matchup alongside Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart and Brittney Griner.
Wilson cemented herself as one of USC’s greatest athletes, playing a key role in the Gamecocks’ 2017 national championship run. South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer now plays for the Las Vegas Aces and was 2020 WNBA MVP. Wilson has a statue dedicated to her in front of Colonial Life Arena.
“Congrats to Team USA led by Coach Staley. And Happy 25th birthday to Columbia’s own Aja Wilson,” University of South Carolina interim President Harris Pastides posted to Twitter. “Proud of these Gamecock medalists and all our Olympians.”
Fellow Gamecock star Allisha Gray won the Olympics’ first 3-on-3 basketball gold medal with Team USA on July 28. Gray and current South Carolina star Aliyah Boston tweeted their support for Wilson and Team USA throughout the game.
Former University of South Carolina sprinter Wadeline Jonathas won a gold medal with Team USA in the women’s 4-by-400 relay.
Said Staley via Twitter: “Giving God all the Glory for his ever loving favor @usabasketball got the GOLD once again! On the 7th day we didn’t rest because we couldn’t. #Tokyo2020”
Basketball box score: United States 90, Japan 75
Japan (75) M. Takada 7-13 2-2 17, R. Machida 3-6 2-2 8, S. Miyazaki 2-4 1-1 5, S. Hayashi 2-4 0-0 4, N. Motohashi 6-14 0-0 16, N. Miyoshi 2-5 0-0 5, M. Nagaoka 1-3 0-0 2, E. Mawuli 2-8 1-2 6, N. Todo 1-4 0-0 2, M. Okoye 1-6 2-2 4, H. Akaho 1-8 0-0 3, Y. Miyazawa 0-2 3-3 3, TOTAL 28-77 11-12 75
United States (90) J. Loyd 1-1 0-0 3, B. Griner 14-18 2-2 30, A. Wilson 8-13 3-5 19, C. Gray 3-5 0-0 6, S. Bird 3-6 0-0 7, B. Stewart 5-13 3-3 14, D. Taurasi 2-6 2-3 7, S. Fowles 1-3 0-0 2, A. Atkins 0-0 2-2 2, T. Charles 0-3 0-0 0, N. Collier 0-1 0-0 0, S. Diggins 0-0 0-0 0, TOTAL 37-69 12-15 90
Halftime—United States 50, Japan 39. 3-Point Goals—United States 4-13 (B. Stewart 1-3, D. Taurasi 1-3, S. Bird 1-3, J. Loyd 1-1, T. Charles 0-2, N. Collier 0-1), Japan 8-31 (N. Motohashi 4-5, N. Miyoshi 1-4, M. Takada 1-4, E. Mawuli 1-4, H. Akaho 1-3, M. Okoye 0-4, Y. Miyazawa 0-2, R. Machida 0-1, M. Nagaoka 0-1, S. Hayashi 0-1, S. Miyazaki 0-1, N. Todo 0-1). Rebounds—United States 42 (B. Stewart 14), Japan 32 (M. Okoye 8). Assists—United States 28 (D. Taurasi 8), Japan 16 (R. Machida 6). Total fouls—United States 13, Japan 11.
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 11:57 PM.
