Leslie makes it four in a row

Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

USA's Tina Thompson (11) (facing camera on left) and teammates celebrated after beating Australia for the gold medal on Saturday night.

The team elder worked to pass the torch to younger players, who made it clear her legacy will live on.

By RACHEL BLOUNT, Star Tribune

Last update: August 23, 2008 - 8:17 PM

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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL UNITED STATES 92, AUSTRALIA 65

Medalists • Gold: United States • Silver: Australia • Bronze: Russia

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BEIJING - It all played out just as Lisa Leslie had envisioned. Saturday night, just before midnight, she bowed her head to receive an Olympic gold medal after her U.S. basketball team had routed Australia 92-65 in the tournament finale at Olympic Basketball Stadium.

Leslie's other three medals, already around her neck, clanked together as she leaned forward to accept her latest. It is likely to be the last Olympic hardware for a woman who led the United States to an 8-0 record in these Games and a 32-0 mark since 1996. It will not, however, end her presence with the U.S. team.

These Olympics were about more than completing Leslie's beautifully matched set. Before she retired from international competition, she wanted to ensure she had prepared the next group of players to take up the cause. Saturday, such teammates as center Sylvia Fowles, forward Candace Parker and the Lynx's Seimone Augustus earned their first Olympic medals and showed that Leslie's influence will linger well after the longtime face of U.S. women's basketball has moved on.

"I grew up watching Lisa Leslie,'' said Augustus, who finished the tournament with an average of 7.9 points per game and played an important role off the bench. "To be with her on this team, to send her out with a bang, means a lot to us. Hopefully, we can continue the legacy she's leaving us. Right now, we're all riding on Cloud Nine.''

Leslie, 36, has played for U.S. national teams since she was a junior in high school. In nearly 20 years of international basketball, she has won four Olympic gold medals, two world championships and is the United States' all-time leading scorer and rebounder in Olympic women's competition.

This year was a particular challenge. Leslie gave birth to her daughter, Lauren, on June 15, 2007, and put herself through some of the most rigorous training of her life. Coach Anne Donovan knew it would be difficult to prepare the U.S. team for these Games, because so many players now compete in two seasons -- one in Europe, then in the WNBA -- and that schedule meant her team would have little time together.

Leslie took it upon herself to make sure every minute counted. During the team's four-week training period in California, she worked with Fowles -- her successor at center -- and kept the younger players focused. She and other veterans, including Katie Smith and Tamika Catchings, explained what the Olympics would be like and how to handle the travel and the pressure.

"So many of my USA teammates had a true impact on me and my progress when I was younger,'' Leslie said. "As I've become the oldest player, I just tried to do the exact same thing in giving that information back to Sylvia Fowles and Candace Parker and Cappie Pondexter. Things like leading by example, working hard, staying positive even when things aren't going great."

Fowles proved to be a star student, leading the team with 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. She and Leslie combined for 27 points and 12 rebounds against Australia, which shot only 25 percent and struggled under intense U.S. pressure.

One of Leslie's first congratulatory hugs after the game was reserved for Fowles. "She said she was proud of me, and I am very proud of her,'' Fowles said. "She told me how much better I got and how she loves the way I work. I just tried to model what she does.''

The United States now has won six of the nine Olympic gold medals that have been awarded in women's basketball. For the younger players, this one just whetted their appetite.

"Diana [Taurasi] turned to me and said, 'It's up to us now,''' said Parker, who is expected to take up Leslie's mantle as a star on and off the court. "I can't wait for the next four years."

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