Sports

U. S. ladies's hoops squashes Nigeria, gets to Olympic semis

.Brian Windhorst, ESPN Elderly Person WriterAug 7, 2024, 05:28 PM ETCloseESPN.com NBA author considering that 2010.Covered Cleveland Cavs for 7 years.Writer of two booksPARIS-- The combo of A'ja Wilson as well as Breanna Stewart has shown to become a devasting mixture for the Crew USA ladies, to the point where there is actually a case developing that they might share the Olympics Many Valuable Player Award.But there's a brand-new duo surfacing, though not a shocking one, that's confirmed to become a big increase as the Americans pursue another gold medal.Las Vegas Aces allies Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young have boosted to be difference-makers in France and played key jobs in Team U.S.A.'s 88-74 victory over Nigeria in the quarterfinals.It denoted the team's 59th consecutive Olympic success as well as puts together a semifinal matchup versus Australia, winners over Serbia Wednesday, on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.Jackie Youthful finished with double-digit points for the second upright game, firing 60% from the industry in the United States' get Nigeria. CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockCoach Cheryl Reeve moved Youthful right into the beginning sequence in place of pro Diana Taurasi versus Nigeria, a staff known for playing high pressure full-court protection that challenges setting against guards.It was actually a benefit after Youthful racked up 19 factors with four steals off the seat in the ultimate swimming pool play game versus Germany. She reacted with an additional superb performance, enjoying with electricity at both ends alongside yet another Aces colleague, Chelsea Gray, in the backcourt.Young scored 15 aspects and also assisted lug the united state outburst early in the game as the Americans got off to a little a slow-moving beginning by their standards.Nigeria was behind through only four points midway via the second fourth. That's when Reeve headed to Plum, that was actually the 12th as well as ultimate player to go into the game for the Americans. Plum instantly modified the activity with her passing and speed on the outrageous end, dishing out 3 easy helps and nailing a 3-pointer. Plum do with just 6 aspects however her six-minute change to complete the very first fifty percent caused a plus-11 on the scoreboard to press the cause 19 at one-half. The united state at that point started the second fifty percent on a 15-0 operate as well as the tension was actually created for the evening.Editor's Picks1 RelatedWilson and also Stewart, who entered the video game balancing a matching 20.3 points per video game, played their company of experienced oppressor round. Wilson invested twenty points on 9-of-11 capturing with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Stewart had 13 points on 5-of-7 capturing with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.Brittney Griner went over the seat to score 11 points on 4-of-5 firing. Those three interior markers incorporating for 16-of-21 is actually challenging to beat.The united state got into the game balancing 29 helps and also once more placed on a ball-sharing facility through setting up 31 more.Promise Amukamara led Nigeria, which reduced the lead down to as reduced as thirteen in the fourth quarter, with 19 points. The activity ended with a little edge when the united state's Kahleah Copper got a specialized nasty for throwing the ball at Nigeria's Ezinne Kalu after she scored in the last seconds.