On Sunday, three-time Las Vegas Aces All-Star shooting guard Jackie Young submitted her biggest game yet for Team USA, as the program looks to win its eighth straight gold medal in Paris this summer.
In front of 25,844 uproarious fans in Villeneuve d’Ascq, France, the 6-foot wing led USA Basketball in scoring as it bested Team Germany by a demonstrative margin of 87-68. In so doing, USA Basketball concludes its group play record with an unblemished 3-0 record. Not only is USA Basketball undefeated in this year’s tournament, the program has now won 58 straight games in Olympic play. That’s dynasty stuff.
The team is still fighting for the No. 1 overall seed in the knockout round, however, as Team France has one more pool game left to play and boasted a stronger average win differential prior to Sunday.
Young scored 19 points on 7-of-13 field goal shooting (3-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc).
The 26-year-old played on the US women’s 3×3 gold medal-winning team in Tokyo during the “2020” Olympic games — which actually transpired in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2024 marks her first year with the 5×5 squad.
A former All-ACC Second-Teamer and NCAA champion at Notre Dame, Young has won the last two consecutive WNBA titles as a key contributor to the Aces. A trio of her All-Star Las Vegas teammates have joined her on a loaded USA Basketball squad this year: two-time WNBA MVP center A’ja Wilson, 2022 Finals MVP guard Chelsea Gray, and All-WBA guard Kelsey Plum.
Wilson made a huge impact once again today. The 6-foot-4 big nabbed 14 points while shooting 6-of-11 from the floor and grabbed three rebounds. New York Liberty MVP power forward Breanna Stewart scored 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting while also pulling down three boards. Wilson and Stewart are generally regarded as the two best players in women’s basketball today, so their big nights aren’t necessarily a surprise. No one else scored in double figures.
Forward Satou Sabally led the way for Team Germany with 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the field (3-of-8 from long range), five rebounds, two assists (against a glaring six turnovers), and two steals.
Team USA enjoyed significant advantages in overall shooting (48.6 percent to 42.6 percent), 3-point conversion rate (42.9 percent to 38.5 percent), and foul shooting efficiency (88.9 percent to 66.7 percent, on nine attempts per). The Americans absolutely clobbered the Germans on the boards, 42-32. They were led in that respect by four-time All-Star Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who logged seven rebounds.
The women’s basketball quarterfinals start Wednesday. Team USA will be the clear favorite, even if they don’t ultimately possess the No. 1 seed.
