Extending Olympic winning streak to 54 games, U.S. women's basketball again shows its dominance

SAITAMA, JAPAN — Never let it be said that the U.S. women's basketball team was never challenged in a game at the Olympics.

There's always Uno, the popular card game, in the players' lounge, with Bam Adebayo of the men's team joining in.

"We've gotten into a few arguments,'' USA star Breanna Stewart said.

As an acronym, UNO also stands for United Nations Organization, and the rest of the world has been united in its efforts to dethrone the American women, and maybe, some decade in the future, those efforts will pay dividends. In this Olympics, the deck again appears to be stacked.

Friday at the Saitama Super Arena, the U.S. beat Serbia, 79-59, to advance to the gold medal game on Sunday against Japan.

It was Team USA's 54th consecutive Olympic victory. A victory on Sunday (Saturday night, Twin Cities time) would mean a seventh straight gold medal.

There are dynasties, and then there is utter world dominance.

"I'm happy that we made it back to the gold-medal round,'' Lynx star Sylvia Fowles said. "We've still got a few things to clean up.''

That is both true and irrelevant. The U.S. didn't handle Serbia's press, committed 17 turnovers, made just 5 of 18 three-point attempts, lost Diana Taurasi in the second quarter ... and won by 20.

Taurasi has been playing with a sore hip, and when she winced on a second-quarter three-point attempt, she went to the bench and didn't return.

Taurasi and point guard Sue Bird are playing for their fifth and perhaps last gold medal. U.S. coach Dawn Staley said Taurasi will be ready to play on Sunday, but the transition to the next generation, led by Stewart and A'ja Wilson, has already begun.

The team's secret isn't a secret. It has the most talent in the world, and its best players always want to play for the national team.

The best player left off the women's team, Nneka Ogwumike, was so angered she tried to play for Nigeria.

"Our women's national team program does well because we get full commitment from our best players,'' Staley said. "Every Olympics you hear a story about a great player or two or three getting left off this team. It is that type of commitment that creates this controversy.''

Stewart dominated in the quarterfinals. In the semis, it was Brittney Griner's turn to star.

She took a couple of blows to the head and staged a one-sided physical duel with Serbia's Dragana Stankovic, and finished with a team-high 15 points, 12 rebounds and a blocked shot, as well as a few choice words for Stankovic.

"I know it looks like I'm angry, but I love the physicality,'' Griner said. "I'd like to see more of that in our league. Let us play.''

The veteran point guard produced eight points, two steals, an assist and two rebounds while pushing the pace on offense.

Fowles and Lynx teammate Napheesa Collier played sparingly, Collier not entering until the fourth quarter.

Fowles finished with two points, five rebounds and an assist in eight minutes. Collier played five minutes, producing five points.

Fowles said the team just received a memo that their mandatory quarantine has ended and they can move more freely around the city. But the last game beckons.

"At this point, you're pretty much locked in,'' she said. "You know the task ahead of you and that's trying to win the gold.''

Complete coverage from Tokyo on our Olympics page