Olympic basketball roundup: The U.S. rout Japan to begin title defence

UNITED STATES 102, JAPAN 76

It was always going to take a miracle to dethrone the U.S., but even that looked like it wouldn’t be enough in its opening win in the women’s Olympic basketball tournament.

The Americans dominated Japan in a 102-76 victory on Monday, led by WNBA superstars A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.

Wilson, the reigning two-time Defensive Play of the Year, picked up 24 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four blocks while Stewart, the reigning MVP, had 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner all added 11 points of their own as the U.S. cruised to the statement win.

Japan held its own for stretches, keeping pace with the Americans by beating them from long range, hitting 15-for-39 (38 per cent) of its looks from deep. Maki Takada led the way with 24 points on an impressive 10-for-11 from the field while Mai Yamamoto had 17 points and was 5-for-11 from beyond the arc.

However, the disparity in size and skill was too much for Japan to handle. The U.S. dominated inside on both ends, outrebounding Japan 56-27, outscoring them in the paint 64-22 and blocking 11 shots to Japan’s zero.

UP NEXT
The USA takes on Belgium at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday
Japan takes on Germany at 5 a.m. ET on Thursday

GERMANY 83, BELGIUM 69

Competition in Group C was always going to be interesting, but it may have just gone up a notch after the reigning EuroBasket champions took a big loss early on.

Germany staged a massive upset over 2023 FIBA women’s EuroBasket champs Belgium in an emphatic 83-69 win on Monday.

Dallas Wings all-star Satou Sabally led the way for the Germans, scoring a team-high 17 points with six rebounds, two assists and a block. Despite it not being a particularly efficient game for her, shooting only 3-of-10 from the field, all of her makes were from 3-point range and she did some damage getting to the charity stripe.

That accuracy from beyond the arc was a big factor for Germany in this game, as Leonie Fiebich scored 16 points on 3-of-4 from deep. As a whole, the team shot 8-for-16 from range.

Sabally’s sister Nyara tacked on 16 points and former Syracuse standout Alexis Peterson added 15 points and eight assists.

Belgium, meanwhile, struggled from deep, hitting only five of their 18 attempts for 27.8 per cent.

Former WNBA all-star Emma Meesseman scored a game-high 25 points while 31-year-old Las Vegas Aces rookie Julie Vanloo followed it up with 18. However, the lack of contributions left Belgium trailing for most of the game.

UP NEXT
Germany takes on Japan at 5 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Belgium faces the USA at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday.

NIGERIA 75, AUSTRALIA 62

The World No. 3 team didn’t get off to a great start at the Olympic women’s basketball tournament.

Australia, a serious medal hopeful, lost 75-62 to World No. 12 Nigeria on Monday, complicating matters in what looks like a loaded Group B.

Nigeria has been a rising powerhouse in recent years, winning the last four AfroBasket tournaments. In this outing, it was led by 2019 AfroBasket MVP Ezinne Kalu who scored a game-high 19 points with five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Point guard Promise Amukamara followed it up with 14 points, six rebounds and nine assists while Murjanatu Musa had 11 points, seven rebounds, four steals and a block.

On the other end, Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith led The Opals with 15 points and seven rebounds while Las Vegas Aces forward Stephanie Talbot picked up 12 rebounds and 10 assists but was unable to find her scoring touch, finishing with only three points on 1-of-10 from the field.

The Aussies left a ton of points at the line, finishing on a brutal 8-of-18 free throws while Nigeria took the easy points when they could, hitting 18-of-21 from the line.

UP NEXT
Australia takes on Canada at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Nigeria faces host France at 11:15 a.m. on Thursday.