66-67: Women’s ‘Dream Team’ wins its toughest gold to the limit

The female version of the ‘Dream Team’ is more dominant than the male version. This cannot be disputed, the numbers confirm it. 61 consecutive victories since Atlanta ’96 and eight Olympic golds, almost all with big results, without limitation. Except for the latter: France was able to snap the United States’ streak perfectly at Bercy Arena. She was one point short (66-67) or centimeters left in the two shoes where Gaby Williams, her star, stepped on the three-point line on her last shot, going in but adding only two points. A triple will lead to overtime.

What happened was beyond anyone’s guess. The USA won 21 in the semifinals against Australia, a historically stronger team than France, and its meager success at the Paris tournament had a 10-point cushion in the quarterfinals against Nigeria. It was and continues to be an invincible team, but it was able to lose in the final because of the French faith, its good defense and its physical tone to fight for every rebound, every split ball. And the United States was on the brink of defeat because they took care of the ball, accumulated losses and most of their stars, except for center A’Ja Wilson (21 points, 12 rebounds), were far from their best. version.

It was the most exciting final of Olympic women’s basketball and a more even match than the men’s final. The United States never took a breath, their highest score of the entire game was +8 (9-17) at the beginning of the second quarter, but from then on they stopped looking invincible and France believed it was possible. 25-25 at halftime, with little offensive success on either side, lots of ‘sticks’, permissive refereeing and the face of events on the USA bench, starting with their coach Cheryl Reeves, who had a bad time until the end.

Either Reeves did not explain himself well during the break or his players did not pay attention to him, because the US conceded at the beginning of the third quarter 10-0 (35-25) and the gesture of Breanna Stewart, A’Ja. Wilson, Plum and company made a mistake. The round was shortened and the legendary Diana Taurasi, on the day of her possible sixth gold, did not jump to play even a minute. There is also almost no room for the ‘ceiling’ Britney Griner (2.03 m.). The final quarter started with two for the USA and neither team went beyond a 4-point lead. The USA made free throws, Johannes looked for decisive possession and Williams’ final three-pointer for France was worth just two points. And breathe the ‘Dream Team’