Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart combined for 46 points, leading the U.S. women’s basketball team to a 102-76 win over Japan in their Olympic opener on Monday. The match was a rematch of the gold-medal game from three years ago.
Despite Japan hitting 11 more three-pointers than the U.S. and the American team shooting a poor 20% from beyond the arc, the Japanese were dominated in the paint. The U.S. team’s physical presence was evident as they secured 19 offensive rebounds, with Wilson and Olympic veteran Brittney Griner contributing 10 of these.
Off the bench, Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, and Kelsey Plum each added 11 points. Japan’s leading scorer, Maki Takada, finished with 24 points, while Mai Yamamoto contributed 17 points and five assists.
The U.S. women’s basketball team will face Belgium in their next round-robin game on Thursday, the same day Japan is set to play Germany. The U.S. is aiming for its eighth consecutive gold medal in the event.
