By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The USA women’s national basketball team showed that they are still the queens of the hoops world after fending off host country France during the gold medal game of the Paris Olympics, 67-66, on August 12, 2024.
After being down by as much as 10 points, the Americans displayed poise under pressure and stuck to their game plan to complete the come-from-behind win.
France’s offensive sets were falling at will during their fiery third-quarter surge as their three-point shooting and high-low post plays gave Team USA tons of problems that put them in a 10-point hole.
However, it didn’t take long for the US to stage a counter-rally with the help of their veteran shooter Kelsey Plum who drained two huge three-pointers that trimmed their deficit to just a single digit.
With most of the starters still struggling from the field, it was Plum and the bench mob who kept Team USA afloat against the hot-shooting French team.
As Team USA chipped away, superstar center A’ja Wilson finally stepped up and found her mid-range stroke in the crucial fourth quarter, steering her squad to level the game at 49-all.
It was a nip-and-tuck affair in the remaining four minutes as France answered every run made by Team USA, but the defending champions’ depth and experience rose to the occasion that proved to be too much for the younger opposition.
France had the chance to tie the game at 67-all in the dying seconds of the game but their final shot attempt was ruled as a two-pointer courtesy of offensive star Gabby Williams.
Williams kept France alive in the fourth quarter but her last-second heroics fell short as Team USA marched to bag their eighth consecutive gold medal in the Olympics.
Despite a slow start, Wilson still spearheaded Team USA’s emphatic comeback win after putting up 21 points and 12 rebounds.
“We just knew what we had to do. We believed in each other and that’s the greatest thing about it,” said Wilson after the huge win.
