A'ja Wilson, US women hold off France to win eighth straight Olympic basketball gold medal

PARIS — The U.S. women’s basketball team had never been challenged during its 32-year run in the Olympics the way it was on Sunday by France.

The Americans met the moment and made history, winning an eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal with a 67-66 victory. It was the closest — and maybe sweetest win — of any during the streak.

“Maybe they won’t say it’s just easy and we walk in and just win gold,” said U.S. center Brittney Griner, who broke down in tears when she was presented her third gold medal. “Maybe they’ll stop saying that, because, like I said, we see everybody’s best shot. And we saw the shot that France gave us.”

A’ja Wilson scored 21 points and the U.S. survived a last-second shot by former UConn standout Gabby Williams, who banked it in from just inside the three-point line, leaving France a point short.

“Eight straight golds is insane, honestly,” Liberty star Breanna Stewart said. “Each one is so different and so, so special and so, so hard.”

The eight straight golds broke a tie with the American men’s program, which won seven in a row from 1936-68.

No team had been able to push the Americans during their impressive streak of consecutive wins, which has reached 61. Before the game against France, only two of those victories had been by single digits.

“It’s amazing. It truly is a dynasty that we have built here at USAB has been incredible,” Wilson said. “And I am so proud of the resilience that my team showed. We could have fumbled it many times, but we pulled through. To say I am a two-time gold medalist, I am so blessed.”

The women’s victory came less than 24 hours after the U.S. men’s team also beat France in the basketball title game. This was the first time in Olympic history that both gold medal basketball games featured teams from the same two countries.

Unlike the men’s game, this one came down to the final second and one last shot.

Kahleah Copper hit two free throws to give the U.S. a 67-64 lead with 3.9 seconds left. After taking the inbounds pass on the left side of the court, Marine Johannes took one dribble and passed it diagonally upcourt to Williams, who jumped for the high pass and caught the ball on the move, landed on the three-point line, shot from just inside the line and banked it in over the outstretched arms of Stewart — her former UConn teammate — at the buzzer.

There was a brief delay before the officials signaled that it indeed was a two-point shot. That sparked a celebration and a lot of happy hugs for the Americans and left the French players standing in disbelief after falling just short.

Williams, who finished with 19 points, had hit a deep three-pointer a few seconds earlier to get France within one before Copper’s free throws.

“I knew it was a two-pointer straight away. It was very difficult for me to stop in time,” she said. “I don’t think we should hold our head down. There’s a little bit of disappointment. But once that pill has been swallowed, we can celebrate the silver medal. What we’ve done is inspirational.”

The American players went to celebrate with basketball celebrities sitting courtside, a group that included men’s basketball players LeBron James, Bam Adebayo and Derrick White along with U.S. women’s greats Lisa Leslie, Sue Bird and Dawn Staley.

“What a tremendous basketball game. The 12,000-plus that were here were just treated to an unbelievable environment and the level of athleticism and competitiveness that these players had,” U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve said.

“What better way to finish the Paris Olympics than to see that? We feel really fortunate, happy, a lot of words. There’s a lot of trust that has to happen, so I’m just thrilled that we’re able to get a win.”

The victory gave Diana Taurasi a sixth consecutive gold medal, making her the most decorated basketball player in Olympic history, breaking a tie with longtime teammate Bird, who won five.

Taurasi, 42, who didn’t play in the gold-medal game and didn’t start any of the knockout phase games, said she is retired now from USA Basketball even with the next Olympics in her hometown of Los Angeles in 2028. She joked that you might see her there “on the beach with a beer in my hand sitting next to Sue.”

Australia edged Belgium, 85-81, in the bronze medal game earlier Sunday.