 The U.S. bench exhorts its teammates during the win over Russia. Garrett Elwood/NBAE/Getty |
With their lead almost gone, the U.S. women responded. First, it was Sheryl Swoopes, who scored consecutive midrange baskets. Then, after a costly Russian turnover, Comets teammate Tina Thompson slipped behind the defense for an open layup to push the lead to eight. Tatiana Shchegoleva scored to cut the lead to six, but the U.S. women cracked down on defense and got a pair of key offensive rebounds to keep the clock moving. Strangely, Russia chose not to foul down six with under 30 seconds left, allowing the U.S. to nearly run out the clock. A meaningless Shchegoleva basket just prior to the final buzzer produced the 66-62 final margin.
The game was close throughout, as both teams’ strength on the interior tended to cancel each other out and produce a slow-paced, defensive battle. The U.S. women took a 16-15 lead after one quarter, but Russia scored the first basket of the second period to take what would prove to be their last lead of the game. While the U.S. stayed ahead on the scoreboard, their margin – four points at half, seven after three quarters – was never a comfortable one. Russia outplayed the U.S. women in the fourth quarter, but they responded with key baskets when they needed them, despite the fact that Swoopes had yet to hit a field goal all game at that point, finishing 2-for-8 from the field.
The Americans still had plenty of scoring punch, with four players in double-figures. Thompson led the team with 14 points. Lisa Leslie, the U.S. team’s top scorer throughout these Olympics, had a relatively quiet game, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Tamika Catchings, with 11 points, was the third U.S. starter in double-figures, while Yolanda Griffith added 10 points and seven boards off the bench.
U.S. Coach Van Chancellor did tighten his rotation against Russia. Four players, including the Storm’s Sue Bird, did not see any action.
Russia also placed four players in double-figures, with Shchegoleva, who played all 40 minutes, scoring a team-high 13 points. WNBA veteran Elena Baranova and guard Ilona Korstine, Russia’s leading Olympic scorer, were held to 10 points apiece, while Maria Stepanova came off the bench to match Griffith with 11 points and eight rebounds.
The U.S. women were outshot by Russia, 45% to 44%, making it critical that they got more shots up by forcing turnovers and hanging on to the basketball themselves. The U.S. had 14 turnovers, but Russia committed 21, including five by Baranova.
 Suzy Batkovic and Laura Summerton celebrate Australia’s win over Brazil. Chris McGrath/Getty |
An 8-0 run that wrapped around the third and fourth quarters pushed Australia’s lead to 13, at the time its largest point, with just over six minutes to play in the game. Storm forward Lauren Jackson, who was relatively quiet during the first three quarters due to heavy defensive pressure by Brazil, got it going during that stretch, hitting a trio of threes during the fourth quarter. Brazil would not get the lead into single-digits again until just over a minute remained. By that point, the game was already decided.
During the first half, Brazil was buoyed by a surprising performance from one-time Storm post Alessandra Santos de Oliveira. de Oliveira had 17 points and seven rebounds during the first half, outplaying Jackson. In the second half, however, de Oliveira was limited by foul trouble and had just three points and one rebound. That really hurt the Brazilians because their perimeter offense, so strong during the first six games of the Olympics as Janeth Arcain, Helen Luz and Iziane Castro Marques combined for 46.2 points per game, was not as dominant against Australia. Marques came up big, scoring a team-high 25 points, but Arcain (15 points, but 6-for-18 from the field) and Luz – who scored only one basket – were relative non-factors. The trio of de Oliveira, Arcain and Marques combined for 60 points, but their teammates combined for just 15.
Jackson finished with her second double-double of the Olympics, scoring 26 points and pulling down 13 rebounds to maintain her status as the Olympics’ leading scorer, men or women, entering the gold-medal game. Jackson did it on just 11 shot attempts, hitting eight of them, including five three-pointers.
Australia also had plenty of support for Jackson when she was not dominating down low, hitting 51.7% from the field and knocking down 11 three-pointers. Captain Trish Fallon was the Opals’ second-leading scorer with 14 points. Penny Taylor, Kristi Harrower and reserve Alicia Poto – who hit a 30-foot three at the buzzer to produce the final 88-75 margin – all scored 12 points, Taylor adding six rebounds. 2003 Storm draft pick Suzy Batkovic had seven points and seven rebounds to round out an extremely productive starting five.
The gold-medal game between Australia and the U.S. – with Bird and Coach Anne Donovan representing the Storm on the U.S. side and Jackson (as well as Batkovic and former Storm guard Sandy Brondello) playing for Australia – tips off at 6:15 a.m. Pacific Saturday morning, televised live on the USA Network.
