Team USA opted to start Jackie Young over veteran Diana Taurasi in its quarterfinal match vs. Nigeria on Wednesday at the Paris Olympics. The change paid off as Team USA secured an 88-74 victory, extending their winning streak to 59 consecutive Olympic games.
Coach Cheryl Reeve informed Taurasi of the lineup change on Tuesday, a decision that saw the six-time Olympian come off the bench for the first time since the 2004 Athens Games.
“I think it’s the first game I’ve ever come off the bench since ’04,” Taurasi said, as reported by Doug Feinberg of The Associated Press. Despite the change, Taurasi emphasized that winning gold remained her top priority.
“I mean, that’s really the only thing that’s important, you know?” she said. “This team’s just evolving, and today was good in certain spots. And there’s still things we’ll get better at for the next game.”
Young, who had a standout performance against Germany with a game-high 19 points, continued her strong play by scoring 15 points against Nigeria and serving as a defensive stopper.
“I know that’s kind of my role in the team. You know, come in and be aggressive on the defensive end,” Young said. “Be physical, get stops. And you know that kind of gets us playing in transition on the offensive end.”
Team USA starts strong vs. Nigeria
The Americans started the game strong, leading 26-17 after the first quarter. This was the first time they had a lead after the opening quarter since their win over Japan. A’ja Wilson notched a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Nigeria kept the game competitive early on. Promise Amukamara led Nigeria with 19 points, while Amy Okonkwo and Ezinne Kalu added 17 and 16 points, respectively. The Nigerians cut Team USA’s lead to 31-27 before a 21-6 run led by Wilson, Young and Kelsey Plum closed the half with a 52-33 advantage for the Americans.
The second half saw Team USA extend their dominance, starting the third quarter with a 10-0 run that effectively sealed Nigeria’s fate. The loss ended a historic run for Nigeria, the first African country to qualify for the Olympic basketball quarterfinals.
The game drew several high-profile spectators, including LeBron James, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky. Taurasi shared a special moment with Phelps after the game, noting their children attend the same school.
“Yeah, that’s my boy. Our kids go to the same school. They’re in the same class. You know, it’s funny, (wife) Penny (Taylor) and I were taking Leo to class one day and we’re like, oh, we’re going to be the only gold medalist,” Taurasi said. “Show and tell. I’m going to bring my five gold medals. And we look back and Michael’s bringing in his little son into the same class and me and Penny just laughed. We spend a lot of time with them at school and for him to come and support, you know, he’s a legend.”
Looking ahead, Team USA will face a familiar opponent in the semifinals: Australia, who routed Serbia 85-67. The Americans, who haven’t lost an Olympic game since the 1992 Barcelona Games, are two victories away from an unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal.
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