PARIS (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored 20 points and Jackie Young added 15 points to help the U.S. beat Nigeria 88-74 on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Paris Games, extending its record winning streak to 59 consecutive Olympic wins.
Breanna Stewart also had 13 for the Americans, who haven’t lost since the 1992 Barcelona Games and are now two victories away from an unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal. They will face a familiar foe in Australia in the semifinals on Friday night.
The Opals routed Serbia 85-67. The other medal round game will feature host France playing Belgium.
The loss ended a historic run by Nigeria, which became the first African country to qualify for the Olympic basketball quarterfinals.
After getting off to slow starts the last few games, the U.S. altered its starting lineup inserting Young for Diana Taurasi. It was the first time Taurasi didn’t start since her first Olympics in 2004.
The move worked as the Americans were up 26-17 after the first quarter — the first time they had a lead after one quarter since the opening win over Japan.
Young had five points early before tweaking her ankle when she landed on a Nigerian player’s foot while shooting a jumper. Taurasi subbed in and hit her first shot — a 3-pointer from the top of the key — that made it 24-12 late in the first.
