Chasing 60th straight win, U.S. women meet Australia in hoops semis

The pursuit of an eighth consecutive gold medal in women's basketball at the Summer Olympics will continue Friday for the United States when it faces Australia in the semifinals in Paris.

Team USA (4-0) is coming off a dominant 88-74 quarterfinals victory over Nigeria on Wednesday, which marked the Americans' 59th straight victory in Olympic competition.

Coach Cheryl Reeve tweaked the starting lineup for that game, giving Jackie Young the nod over 42-year-old veteran Diana Taurasi. Young -- who joined A'ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray as Las Vegas Aces in the starting five -- had 15 points and two assists in 18 minutes, while Taurasi added three points and four assists off the bench.

Wilson, as she has done all tournament, continued to lead the Americans with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Young brought extra tenacity on defense for the U.S., which forced Nigeria into 13 turnovers and held them to 24 percent shooting from 3-point range.

"You can't really move, you can never get any momentum," Kelsey Plum, Young's Olympic and Aces teammate, told USA Today of Young's defense prowess. "We call her 'Baby LeBron.' That's the best comparison for how physically strong she is."

Added Reeve: "(Young is) terrific, she gets to the spaces she wants to get to, she's persistent, plays the schemes, great help defender, great rotator, great rebounder. She does a lot of things well."

Young is third in scoring for Team USA in these Olympics with 10.3 points per game. Wilson leads the Americans and is second among all Olympians in scoring and rebounding with 20.3 points and 10 boards per game.

Australia (3-1) has one of the more talented rosters in Paris, featuring Washington Mystics guard Jade Melbourne, Seattle Storm guard Sami Whitcomb, Storm center Ezi Magbegor, Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith, and three-time Olympian Cayla George.

Smith had 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Australians' 85-67 win over Serbia in the quarterfinals.

The Opals also have Lauren Jackson, the 43-year-old forward who is a three-time former WNBA MVP, seven-time WNBA All-Star and a four-time Olympic medalist. She didn't play in Australia's quarterfinal triumph of Serbia, but is expected to be available against the U.S.

"There's no better one -- if you're looking for a post player to handle the moment -- there's no better than Lauren Jackson," Australia coach Sandy Brondello told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Of facing the Americans, Brondello told The Next: "They are a great team. We know that, but we have to go with the mindset that they need to stop us, as well."

The U.S. beat Australia 79-55 in 2021 in the Olympic quarterfinals in Tokyo behind 23 points from Stewart.

--Field Level Media