U.S. Olympic Women’s Team Explodes For 81-72 Win Over Nigeria

Outscoring Nigeria (0-1) 27-12 in the second quarter, the U.S. (1-0) held off Nigeria 81-72 to open both team’s Olympic play Tuesday at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The victory extended the red, white and blue’s Olympic win streak to 50 consecutive games.

Next up for the USA is host Japan (1-0), which opened with a 74-70 win against France (0-1) in the game prior to the USA-Nigeria contest, on July 30 at 1:40 p.m. JST (12:40 a.m. EDT).

The USA trailed 20-17 after the first period and was down 25-20 with 8:07 to play in the second quarter. But a 24-0 USA offensive explosion, that covered 6:51, fueled the U.S. to a 43-25 lead and the six-time defending Olympic gold medalist rolled on to the victory.

A’ja Wilson led the U.S. charge with 19 points and 13 rebounds, Brittney Griner added 13 points, 10 rebounds, and Diana Taruasi, appearing in a U.S. record 33rd Olympic game, tallied points 10 points. Five-time Olympian Sue Bird handed out a game-high 11 assists.