US women’s basketball focused on Olympic gold

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PARIS (AP) — The friendly warm-up games are over. Now the U.S. women’s basketball team must deal with the pressure of history.

Led by two-time WNBA MVPs A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, the U.S. begins its quest for an unprecedented eighth straight gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The country has a winning streak of 55 in a row at the Olympics, ahead of a team that hasn’t lost since 1992 in Barcelona.

Then there’s Diana Taurasi, 42, who’s going for a sixth gold medal. She’s not focused on the big picture of what the U.S. has accomplished at the Olympics over the past three decades; her eyes are set solely on winning another gold medal in Paris.

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“It doesn’t matter what the history is, it doesn’t affect this team or this Olympics,” she said. “We’re finding a way to find our own identity as a team on and off the field. That last eight doesn’t promise you anything for the future. That’s the mindset we’ve always had.”

The team is trying to break a tie with the U.S. men’s basketball team for the most consecutive gold medals, which the men won seven in a row from 1936-68.

The women will open play against Japan on Monday. The two teams met three years ago in Tokyo in the gold medal match, with the U.S. winning 90-75. The U.S. also has Olympic newcomers Germany and Belgium in the group.

“There are so many good teams and the level of everyone has gone up over the last two or three Olympics,” Taurasi said. “You see the investment in women’s sports and it’s paying off on the field. So that’s exciting to see.”

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The Americans won by an average of 16 points at the Tokyo Games, their narrowest margin of victory since their gold medal streak began at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

They have had little training time since the team was assembled in June. They spent three days in Phoenix during the WNBA All-Star weekend before heading to London on Tuesday for an exhibition game against Germany. They arrived in France on Thursday after a train ride from England.

The Americans were unsure of their travel plans for the preliminary rounds in Lille after three major high-speed train lines were disrupted by sabotage on Friday.

“We’re not sure whether we’ll take the train or the bus,” Taurasi said. “We have confidence in our security team; we’ll get there.”

They have only practiced together for about 14 hours before their opening match against a Japanese team that has been preparing for a year.

“We’re making the most of the time we have and trying to get better every day,” said Wilson, who is on her second Olympic team.

The advantage the US has is incredible depth. The team has been able to wear down opponents and has reserves that would start for any other country in the Olympics.

“We know we have an advantage because of our depth, so when we’re on the pitch we’re looking for the best opportunity and we can always just bring new players in,” Stewart said.

Coach Cheryl Reeve called the Americans’ depth their greatest strength, followed closely by their sheer size, which allows them to not overload players during games while being creative.

“Look at what’s come off our bench,” Reeve said. “I think that’s been really valuable. I’ve seen that. I was in London for the 2012 Olympics and just saw how they used their second team. I felt it again in 2016, and so, yeah, I mean, we’d be fools not to use our depth.”

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