.Alexa PhilippouCloseAlexa PhilippouESPNCovers girls's university baseball as well as the WNBA.Earlier covered UConn as well as the WNBA Connecticut Sunshine for the Hartford Courant.Stanford grad as well as Baltimore native along with more experience at the Dallas Early Morning News, Seat Times and Cincinnati EnquirerKevin PeltonCloseKevin PeltonESPN Senior Citizen Writer Co-author, Pro Basketball Syllabus collection.Formerly a consultant along with the Indiana Pacers.Cultivated WARP score as well as SCHOENE systemAug 8, 2024, 09:49 AM ETTwo worldwide competitors are going to meet again on Friday, as the USA females's basketball team takes on the Australian Opals with a spot in the 2024 Paris Games' gold medal match on the line.Team United States, which is riding a streak of 59 successive Olympic wins, developed to the semifinals along with an 88-74 triumph over Nigeria on Wednesday. Complying with a distressed loss to Nigeria in their Olympic opener, the Opals have strung with each other 3 upright success, consisting of Wednesday's 85-67 quarterfinal decision over Serbia.Editor's Picks2 RelatedWhile the USA girls have actually been actually the gold standard for baseball around the planet, gaining seven successive Olympic gold awards and also 9 overall, Australia has been a famous giant together with them. The Opals have medaled in five of recent seven Summertimes Games, taking home three silvers and also pair of bronze, although their semifinal run in Paris notes the very first time they've advanced past the quarterfinals since the 2012 London Video games.2012 also was actually the final time the legendary Lauren Jackson dressed on the Olympic stage for the eco-friendly and gold-- previously. While Crew U.S.A. possesses 42-year-old, six-time Olympian Diana Taurasi, the Opals possess Jackson, 43, showing up in her 5th Games as well as first in 12 years. Jackson has constantly medaled in the competition, as well as though she has seen restricted activity so far in France, she possesses a possibility to carry on that touch this weekend.Australia-- which flaunts 6 energetic WNBA players-- has plenty of drive, but the Opals are 0-20 perpetuity versus the USA elderly national crew, including 0-8 in Olympic competitors. In the course of the 5 Gamings through which they medaled, Australia shed to the U.S. either in the semifinals or even the gold medal contest. The teams last satisfied in 2020, when the Americans dominated 79-55. ESPN's Alexa Philippou and Kevin Pelton break a number of journalism concerns moving in to the matchup.play1:05 Breanna Stewart credit scores Jackie Young for jump-starting Crew USABreanna Stewart speaks along with Brian Windhorst after Staff U.S.A.'s 14-point sway Nigeria to advance to the semifinals.Team USA shifted up its starting five versus Nigeria, along with Jackie Youthful in place of Diana Taurasi. Carried out the relocation correct its own problems in the backcourt?Philippou: Starting Young instead of Taurasi-- who had last go over the seat at the Olympics in 2004-- was the right move. Along with 15 points against Nigeria, Youthful seems taking a function as Team United States's 3rd marker responsible for A'ja Wilson as well as Breanna Stewart. (Undoubtedly, Young is the merely other united state gamer balancing dual designs at 10.3 points per activity.) Young, one of 3 Las Vegas Aces players in the starting 5, showed off her 3-point shooting previously versus Germany, going 5-of-8. Yet while she went scoreless from deep-seated on Wednesday, it was her potential to obtain downhill and also attack from midrange that attracted attention, alongside her trademark self defense in the backcourt. It took until the center of the second fourth for the USA to really place its feet on the fuel against Nigeria, but Youthful's aggressiveness and energy on both ends need to continue to pay dividends. And Taurasi seemed to accomplish properly off the bench, where she improved as a facilitator with 4 assists.Pelton: I would certainly love to find starting point guard Chelsea Gray be a risk to credit rating. She missed out on all 3 of her try tries in the quarterfinals, bringing Gray to 1-of-13 until now during the Olympics. Amazingly, the united state outscored Nigeria through just 2 points in Gray's 17:27, while all four various other starters had a plus-minus of plus-17 or far better while on the court.Still, as I pointed out in our last roundtable, the U.S. girls may conquer one non-scorer in the starting 5 so long as she is delivering something else to the table. As well as Gray is with her playmaking, having actually now totted 22 aids against just 3 turn overs. Therefore, I do not assume train Cheryl Reeve needs to make further changes.Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE by means of Getty ImagesWhat troubles perform the Australians position, and also what can create them a hard matchup?Top tales of the full week from Obtain exclusive accessibility to 1000s of superior short articles a year coming from best article writers. u2022 Solak: Interesting NFL QB sophomore class "u2022 MLB: Epic AL MVP fight, various other honors "u2022 25 essential players in CFP ethnicity" Additional ESPN+ web content ".Philippou: WNBA followers will certainly be actually properly acquainted with this Opals squad, which features the Seattle Tornado's Ezi Magbegor and also Sami Whitcomb, Minnesota Lynx's Alanna Smith, Los Angeles Sparks' Stephanie Talbot, Washington Mystics' Jade Melbourne and also Indiana Fever's Kristy Wallace, plus The big apple Right train Sandy Brondello at the helm. Not just do the Opals possess the ability to complete versus Team USA. They possess energy and fix observing their unsatisfactory beginning to the Olympics. Brondello has actually been actually felt free to with her staff's poise and also grit over the past full week, pair of premiums a challenger needs to have when encountering the Americans.The Opals, whose balanced attack includes five gamers averaging at least 8.0 PPG, can harm opponents inside along with Magbegor as well as Johnson however likewise from the 3-point arc. Their 36.9% 3-point clip is actually the very best in the Olympic area and considerably greater than Group U.S.A.'s puny 30.8%. Whitcomb and Cayla George, a 2023 WNBA champ while with the Las Vegas Aces, lead the crew along with 8 and 7 treys, respectively.Pelton: Abstractly, Australia is actually much deeper as well as much more gifted than any type of team in the business barring the united state females. We can easily dispute the greatest global player at the Paris Gamings, with Emma Meesseman (Belgium) as well as Satou Sabally (Germany) as solid candidates. But no group possesses a pair of players like the Opals' frontcourt duo of Magbegor as well as Smith, both of whom will possess gotten on my WNBA All-Star team this year. (Magbegor, a 2023 All-Star, was not called to the crew this period in spite of similar development.) And also no staff outside the USA possesses almost as a lot WNBA adventure throughout its roster.Given the only thing that ability, it was stunning when Australia lost its position video game to Nigeria then scarcely beat winless Canada. In their previous pair of games, our team've found the Opals we expected, as they beat exceeded France to advance to the knockout phase and also led Serbia through as numerous as 28 in a lopsided quarterfinal victory.A' Ja recipes to Stewie for three. LeBron permits. U.S.A. System as well as Peacock pic.twitter.com/yI8kbWNUpsu2014 NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2024 May any person cease Breanna Stewart as well as A'ja Wilson?Pelton: No. Yet if any individual is actually going to have them, it's the duo of Magbegor and Johnson. Australia's article players position second (Magbegor, 2.4) and also fourth (Johnson, 1.8) in the WNBA in blocks per video game and possess the mobility to defend Stewart and also Wilson on the perimeter. Magbegor is actually specifically experienced versus each challengers, having encountered Stewart in practice for three years as Tornado allies and matched up along with Wilson in the 2022 WNBA semifinals.The most significant hurdle for Magbegor and also Smith is actually nasty difficulty. Magbegor got 3 first-half fouls versus Canada, and Johnson possessed two in the very first one-fourth versus France, limiting their mins. Data backup George is a challenging, skillful player (she scored 18 factors in 24 mins versus Serbia) yet nowhere near as sports on defense.Philippou: Pelton raises an authentic concern. But offered the experience Stewart as well as Wilson have at this stage-- Stewart is opting for her third Olympic gold and also Wilson her 2nd, while Magbegor and Smith are looking in their very first Games-- I 'd count on the Team U.S.A. extremely duo to create the winning plays required in such a stressful condition to advance to the final.Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesWhich of France and Belgium will be actually a more durable opponent for Group USA?Pelton: I'm choosing Belgium, which offered the U.S. ladies their toughest Olympic test however. The Americans prevailed through thirteen aspects, although the frame was actually merely seven getting into the fourth one-fourth of a group phase video game played in Lille, France, near the border along with Belgium. All this even with Belgium going merely 5-of-27 in 3-point firing, along with Julie Vanloo specifically struggling coming from midtown while overlooking 10 of her 11 tries. On Wednesday, the Mystics point player went 3-of-5 from 3, scoring thirteen factors along with 7 assists (albeit along with nine turnovers) as Belgium cruised past Spain, the simply other staff besides the USA that was actually unbeaten in swimming pool play.Philippou: As the lot country along with the group on its side as well as plenty of pride vulnerable, a complicated protective crew in France definitely would not be a pushover, either, especially if Marine Johannes may blow up like she did versus Germany along with 24 points off the bench as well as with Gabby Williams leading the way on each ends.Has Crew U.S.A. played its own finest baseball yet?Philippou: In-game congruity, specifically on outburst, may still be a concern. There are opportunities when the lack of playing time all together or Reeve's tweaking along with rotations/combinations is still apparent. Besides, there is actually a reason that Sue Bird just recently said on Carmelo Anthony's podcast that United States Baseball is the most unpleasant baseball she has actually ever participated in. After a bit of a sluggish start, the USA inevitably led through 30 in the 3rd one-fourth versus Nigeria, however Reeve couldn't have loved how her staff made it possible for the D'Tigress to create it a 14-point activity just before the last buzzer. Through 4 games, the Americans' absence of 3-point capturing have not definitely been actually fixed, which can be an issue if enemies get hot from deep.Team U.S.A. can't neglect any of the continuing to be groups in the business, but along with a protective identity and also offensive expertise led by Stewart and also Wilson, it has revealed it can easily put video games away when it requires to, something that must transfer over in to the last two games.Pelton: On the flip side, I assume the shooting is likewise main reason to believe there's one more gear for the USA women. Jointly, the 12 gamers on the roster have mixed to shoot thirty three% on 3-point attempts in the WNBA this time. That won't earn a "Sprinkle Sis" nickname whenever very soon, yet it's additionally much better than Staff U.S.A. has actually dealt with from the briefer 3-point line in FIBA play.Taurasi (1-of-7) and also Jewell Loyd (2-of-10) are actually outstanding to heat up from lengthy variety. Look out if they eventually perform.