Sports

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

.Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior WriterAug 7, 2024, 05:28 PM ETCloseESPN.com NBA writer because 2010.Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years.Writer of pair of booksPARIS-- The mixture of A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart has verified to become a devasting mix for the Crew USA girls, relevant where there is actually an instance cultivating that they might share the Olympics The majority of Belongings Gamer Award.But there is actually a brand new duo surfacing, though not an unusual one, that's confirmed to become a big boost as the Americans work toward an additional gold medal.Las Vegas Aces colleagues Kelsey Plum and also Jackie Young have actually stepped up to become difference-makers in France and participated in key jobs in Crew U.S.A.'s 88-74 triumph over Nigeria in the quarterfinals.It denoted the staff's 59th consecutive Olympic triumph as well as puts together a semifinal match against Australia, winners over Serbia Wednesday, on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.Jackie Youthful completed with double-digit factors for the second upright video game, firing 60% from the area in the USA' win over Nigeria. CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockCoach Cheryl Reeve relocated Youthful right into the starting lineup instead of expert Diana Taurasi versus Nigeria, a crew known for participating in higher pressure full-court protection that challenges setting against guards.It was actually a perks after Young racked up 19 aspects along with 4 steals off the seat in the final swimming pool play activity versus Germany. She reacted along with yet another superb performance, enjoying with power at both points together with another Aces ally, Chelsea Gray, in the backcourt.Young scored 15 points and also assisted carry the USA outburst early in the activity as the Americans got off to a little bit of a lethargic beginning through their standards.Nigeria was behind through merely four points midway with the second fourth. That's when Reeve headed to Plum, that was actually the 12th as well as last player to enter into the ready the Americans. Plum right away changed the activity along with her passing as well as velocity on the offending point, dishing out 3 easy assists and also toenailing a 3-pointer. Plum completed with only 6 aspects however her six-minute switch to complete the 1st one-half resulted in a plus-11 on the scoreboard to drive the trigger 19 at one-half. The USA after that began the second half on a 15-0 run as well as the anxiety was actually provided for the evening.Editor's Picks1 RelatedWilson as well as Stewart, that entered the video game averaging a matching 20.3 points per video game, played their label of professional oppressor sphere. Wilson put in 20 points on 9-of-11 firing along with 11 rebounds and pair of blocks. Stewart possessed 13 points on 5-of-7 capturing along with five rebounds and also 3 assists.Brittney Griner came off the bench to rating 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Those 3 interior markers blending for 16-of-21 is actually challenging to beat.The USA entered into the game averaging 29 supports as well as once again applied a ball-sharing medical clinic by setting up 31 more.Promise Amukamara led Nigeria, which reduced the lead up to as low as 13 in the fourth quarter, with 19 points. The activity ended along with a little bit of upper hand when the USA's Kahleah Copper acquired a technological repulsive for throwing the ball at Nigeria's Ezinne Kalu after she scored in the ultimate secs.