Sports

U. S. females's hoops crushes Nigeria, hits Olympic semis

.Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior Citizen WriterAug 7, 2024, 05:28 PM ETCloseESPN.com NBA author due to the fact that 2010.Dealt With Cleveland Cavs for 7 years.Writer of 2 booksPARIS-- The mixture of A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart has proven to become a devasting mix for the Crew United States ladies, relevant where there is actually a scenario establishing that they could share the Olympics Most Prized Possession Gamer Award.But there is actually a brand-new duo developing, though certainly not an unexpected one, that's verified to be a significant increase as the Americans pursue one more gold medal.Las Las vega Aces teammates Kelsey Plum as well as Jackie Young have actually boosted to be difference-makers in France as well as played crucial parts in Team United States's 88-74 success over Nigeria in the quarterfinals.It denoted the crew's 59th consecutive Olympic triumph and sets up a semifinal match versus Australia, victors over Serbia Wednesday, on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.Jackie Young do with double-digit aspects for the 2nd upright game, firing 60% from the industry in the USA' draw Nigeria. CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockCoach Cheryl Reeve relocated Young into the beginning lineup in place of expert Diana Taurasi against Nigeria, a team recognized for participating in high stress full-court protection that challenges opposing guards.It was actually a perks after Young scored 19 factors along with four steals off the bench in the last swimming pool play video game versus Germany. She responded with one more great functionality, having fun with electricity at each ends alongside an additional Aces teammate, Chelsea Gray, in the backcourt.Young scored 15 points and also helped hold the USA outburst early in the activity as the Americans left to a little bit of a sluggish start by their standards.Nigeria was behind by just four aspects midway with the second one-fourth. That is actually when Reeve headed to Plum, who was actually the 12th and last gamer to go into the game for the Americans. Plum quickly altered the video game along with her passing as well as speed on the repulsive end, dispensing 3 fast supports and toenailing a 3-pointer. Plum completed with simply 6 aspects however her six-minute switch to end up the initial half resulted in a plus-11 on the scoreboard to drive the trigger 19 at half. The USA then started the second half on a 15-0 run and also the anxiety was provided for the evening.Editor's Picks1 RelatedWilson and also Stewart, that entered into the game averaging a matching 20.3 scores per game, played their label of experienced bully round. Wilson placed in 20 factors on 9-of-11 capturing with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Stewart had 13 aspects on 5-of-7 shooting along with 5 rebounds and also 3 assists.Brittney Griner came off the seat to rating 11 ideas on 4-of-5 firing. Those three indoor markers mixing for 16-of-21 is tough to beat.The united state got in the video game balancing 29 assists and once more applied a ball-sharing center by putting together 31 more.Promise Amukamara led Nigeria, which cut the top to as reduced as thirteen in the 4th one-fourth, with 19 scores. The game ended along with a little bit of edge when the USA's Kahleah Copper obtained a technical foul for tossing the reception at Nigeria's Ezinne Kalu after she scored in the ultimate seconds.