The American women have won the last seven Olympic gold medals in basketball, nearing an Olympic record.
The campaign for No. 8 began on Monday with a group game against Japan, marking the 5-on-5 debut of former Washington Huskies star Kelsey Plum at the Olympics. Plum won a gold medal with the 3×3 basketball team at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Coming off the bench for starting point guard Diana Taurasi, Plum played 14 minutes in a 102-76 win over the Japanese, the 56th Olympic game in a row that the Americans have won. Japan were the silver medalists in Tokyo, meaning they have now fallen victim to consecutive victories No. 55 and 56.
Plum had 11 points and 3 assists in her role off the bench, shooting 4 of 6 from the field, and was one of five Americans in double figures. Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner also had 11 points off the bench. Team USA was led by A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, who scored 24 and 22 points, respectively, in starting roles.
Japan was led by center Maki Takada, who scored 24 points on 10 of 11 shooting from the field, and sharpshooter Mai Yamamoto, who added 17 points with 5 threes. The Japanese launched nearly 40 three-point attempts, nearly double the 20 attempts from the Americans, who were only able to make 4 shots from deep on Monday.
The US has two group games remaining, returning on Thursday at noon against Belgium followed by a Sunday morning affair with Germany at 8:15 am Pacific time. The tournament continues from there with the gold medal game on Sunday, August 11 at 6:30 am Pacific.