paris — The friendly warmup games are over. Now the U.S. women’s basketball team must deal with the pressure of history.
Led by two-time WNBA MVPs A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, the U.S. starts its quest at the Paris Games for an unprecedented eighth straight gold medal on a 55-game Olympic winning streak for a program that hasn’t lost since 1992 in Barcelona.
There also is 42-year-old Diana Taurasi, who will be going for a sixth gold medal. She isn’t focused on the big picture of what the U.S. has accomplished over the last three decades in the Olympics; her eyes are fixed solely on getting another gold in Paris.
“It doesn’t matter what the history is, it doesn’t affect this team or this Olympics,” she said. “We find a way to find our own identity as a team on and off the court. Those last eight don’t promise you anything going forward. That’s the mindset we’ve always taken.”
The team is trying to break a tie with the U.S. men’s basketball team for the most consecutive gold medals. The men won seven straight from 1936-68.
The women open play against Japan on Monday. The two teams met in the gold- medal game in Tokyo three years ago and the U.S. came away with a 90-75 victory. The U.S. also has Olympic newcomer Germany and Belgium in its group.
“There’s so many good teams and everyone’s level has raised in the last two or three Olympics,” Taurasi said. “You see the investment in women’s sports, and it pays off on the court. So that’s promising to see.”
The Americans won by an average of 16 points at the Tokyo Games. That was their smallest margin of victory since the gold-medal streak started at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
They have had little practice time since the team was put together in June. They had three days in Phoenix during WNBA All-Star weekend before heading to London for an exhibition game against Germany on Tuesday. They got to France on Thursday after a train ride from England.
The Americans weren’t sure of their exact travel plans going to and from the preliminary games in Lille after three major high-speed train lines were disrupted by acts of sabotage Friday.
“We’re not sure if we’ll [travel by] train or bus,” Taurasi said. “We have confidence in our security team; we’ll get there.”
They will have had only about 14 hours of practice together before their opening game against a Japan team that has been preparing for a year.
“We make the most of the time we have and just try to get better every day,” said Wilson, who is on her second Olympic team.
The advantage the U.S. has is its incredible depth. The team has been able to wear down opponents and has reserves that would be starting for every other country in the Olympics.
“We know we have an advantage because of our depth, so when we’re on the court we’re looking for the best shot and we can just bring in fresh players all the time,” Stewart said.
Coach Cheryl Reeve called the Americans’ depth their top strength, followed closely by their sheer size. That allows her not to overwork players during games while also being creative.
“Look what’s coming off our bench,” Reeve said. “I think that’s been real valuable. I’ve seen that. I was in London for the 2012 Olympics and just watching the way they used their second team. Felt it again in 2016, and so, yeah, I mean we would be a fool not to utilize our depth.”
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