Sports

U. S. women's hoops squashes Nigeria, arrives at Olympic semis

.Brian Windhorst, ESPN Elder WriterAug 7, 2024, 05:28 PM ETCloseESPN.com NBA writer given that 2010.Dealt With Cleveland Cavs for 7 years.Author of pair of booksPARIS-- The mixture of A'ja Wilson as well as Breanna Stewart has shown to become a devasting blend for the Staff United States women, to the point where there is an instance creating that they could discuss the Olympics Many Prized Possession Gamer Award.But there's a brand new duo emerging, though certainly not an astonishing one, that's verified to be a large boost as the Americans work toward an additional gold medal.Las Las vega Aces colleagues Kelsey Plum as well as Jackie Youthful have actually boosted to be difference-makers in France and played vital parts in Crew U.S.A.'s 88-74 victory over Nigeria in the quarterfinals.It signified the staff's 59th successive Olympic triumph as well as establishes a semifinal match versus Australia, winners over Serbia Wednesday, on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.Jackie Youthful do with double-digit aspects for the second straight video game, shooting 60% coming from the field in the United States' sway Nigeria. CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockCoach Cheryl Reeve relocated Young in to the starting lineup in place of expert Diana Taurasi against Nigeria, a group known for playing high tension full-court protection that challenges setting against guards.It was a benefit after Youthful racked up 19 aspects with four steals off the bench in the last swimming pool play activity against Germany. She reacted along with one more outstanding performance, enjoying with power at both ends together with another Aces ally, Chelsea Gray, in the backcourt.Young racked up 15 aspects and also assisted carry the united state outburst early in the activity as the Americans got off to a bit of a sluggish start by their standards.Nigeria was behind through only four points midway with the second fourth. That is actually when Reeve visited Plum, that was the 12th as well as last player to get in the game for the Americans. Plum instantaneously transformed the game along with her passing away and also velocity on the outrageous point, giving out 3 easy supports and toenailing a 3-pointer. Plum completed with merely 6 aspects but her six-minute switch to end up the 1st one-half caused a plus-11 on the scoreboard to drive the lead to 19 at one-half. The USA after that began the second half on a 15-0 run and the stress was actually provided for the evening.Editor's Picks1 RelatedWilson and Stewart, that entered into the video game averaging a matching 20.3 points every activity, played their label of skillful oppressor ball. Wilson invested twenty points on 9-of-11 shooting along with 11 rebounds as well as 2 blocks. Stewart had 13 factors on 5-of-7 capturing along with five rebounds and also 3 assists.Brittney Griner came off the bench to rating 11 ideas on 4-of-5 shooting. Those three internal scorers combining for 16-of-21 is hard to beat.The U.S. entered the video game balancing 29 supports and also once again put on a ball-sharing center through constructing 31 more.Promise Amukamara led Nigeria, which reduced the top to as low as thirteen in the 4th quarter, along with 19 scores. The activity ended along with a little advantage when the USA's Kahleah Copper got a technological filthy for tossing the ball at Nigeria's Ezinne Kalu after she racked up in the last secs.