The U.S. made a change in its starting lineup, inserting Jackie Young for Diana Taurasi, to try to get off to a better start.
It paid immediate dividends as the Americans started strong and beat Nigeria 88-74 on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Paris Games, extending their winning streak to 59 consecutive Olympic games.
Taurasi said coach Cheryl Reeve told her Tuesday of the lineup change.
“I think it’s the first game I’ve ever come off the bench since ’04,” the six-time Olympian said.
It was indeed the first time Taurasi hadn’t started an Olympic contest since the 2004 Athens Games. The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer said winning gold was all that mattered to her.
“I mean, that’s really the only thing that’s important, you know?” Taurasi said. “And you know, this team’s just evolving and today was good in certain spots. And there’s still things we’ll get better at for the next game.”
Reeve said the staff has been evaluating the roster since the WNBA All-Star Game last month in Phoenix.
“Just accumulate information about our roster, you know, gave opportunities in different places,” she said of the lineup change. “Then when we got to the medal rounds that we will be locking in on a solid rotation.”
Up next is a familiar opponent, 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 Americans haven’t lost since the 1992 Barcelona Games and are two victories away from an unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal.
Young made the most of the start, scoring 15 points, and also was a defensive stopper.
“I know that’s kind of my role in the team. You know, come in and be aggressive on the defensive end,” she said. “Be physical, get stops. And you know that kind of gets us playing in transition on the offensive end.”
