Sabrina Ionescu and Team USA Women’s basketball silenced Belgium’s upset bid.
Bienvenue en Août! The new month kicked off with the women’s 5×5 taking center stage. Team USA pulled out a tight victory over a strong Belgian squad. Mystics legend Emma Meesseman put up 24 points and current Mystic Julie Vanloo had 11 to keep the Cats close throughout the game. But Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson (49 combined points) proved too much for Belgium. The US won 87-74 to get its 57th consecutive Olympic victory, a streak dated back to 1992 games in Barcelona. Satou Sabally put on a show for Germany as they beat Japan. Sabally scored 33 points in a record-setting performance. Both the USA and Germany earned a trip to the quarterfinals with their wins. France did as well in their victory over Nigeria. No team has been eliminated from contention yet.
5×5 women’s basketball scores for Aug. 1
- Group C: Japan 64—Germany 75
- Group B: Australia 70—Canada 65 (Melbourne 4 pts, Edwards 4 pts)
- Group B: France 75—Nigeria 54
- Group C: Belgium 74—United States 87
It was another rough day for the Americans in 3×3. The women fell to Australia in the morning as mistakes and missed shots hounded their effort. Hailey Van Lith got out of her slump to help the USA get a win over Spain in the afternoon session. The Americans will likely have to win all three games tomorrow to stay in contention. The men fell to 0-4 with losses to Lithuania and Latvia. Jimmer Fredette sat out of both games due to an injury. Adding heartbreak to injury, the men lost after leading 19-15, just two points from victory. They will have to win all three games tomorrow to move on.
3×3 schedule scores from Aug. 1
- China 15—Australia 21 women
- Germany 19 vs. Canada 15 women
- Netherlands 19 vs. Serbia 21 men
- China 8 vs. Latvia 22 men
- Azerbaijan 10 vs. France 15 women
- United States 15 vs. Australia 17 women
- Lithuania 21 vs. Poland 12 men
- Netherlands 20 vs. France 13 men
- China 14 vs. Spain 11 women
- Germany 12 vs. Azerbaijan 8 women
- United States 18 vs. Lithuania 20 men
- China 17 vs. Poland 22 men
- Spain 11 vs. United States 17 women
- Canada 13 vs. France 9 women
- Serbia 19 vs. France 16 men
- United States 19 vs. Latvia 21 men
5×5 men’s basketball schedule for Aug. 2
- Group B: Japan vs. Brazil, 5 a.m. ET
- Group A: Australia vs. Greece, 7:30 a.m.
- Group A: Canada vs. Spain, 11:15 a.m.
- Group B: France vs. Germany, 3 p.m.
3×3 schedule for Aug. 2
- China vs. Germany women, 3 a.m. ET
- Australia vs. Azerbaijan women, 3:30 a.m.
- Lithuania vs. China men, 4:05 a.m.
- Poland vs. Netherlands men, 4:35 a.m.
- Australia vs. Spain women, 6:30 a.m.
- United States vs. France, 7 a.m.
- Netherlands vs. Lithuania men, 7:35 a.m.
- France vs. Latvia men, 8:05 a.m.
- Azerbaijan vs. China, 8:30 a.m.
- United States vs. Canada women, 12 p.m.
- France vs. United States men, 12:35 p.m.
- Latvia vs. Serbia men, 1:05 p.m.
- Canada vs. Spain women, 3 p.m.
- France vs. Germany women, 3:30 p.m.
- Serbia vs. Poland men, 4:05 p.m.
- China vs. United States men, 4:35 p.m.
Enjoy the games!