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The U.S. women's unlikely quest for a first rugby sevens medal was rewarded Tuesday with a dramatic final play that yielded a 14-12 defeat of Australia in the bronze medal match.

First-time Olympian Alex Sedrick broke away from a scrum deep in U.S. territory as the final seconds ticked off the clock, and, because the play is allowed to continue even as time expires, she dashed the length of the 85-meter field for the five-point try that erased a 12-7 margin and tied the match at 12.

Sedrick then connected on a two-point conversion that accounted for the final two-point margin.

The U.S. lost, 24-12, to reigning gold medalist New Zealand in a semifinal earlier Tuesday. The U.S. had won three of its first four matches before Tuesday and was able to secure a medal with a win in either of Tuesday's games.

The bronze medal game was tied at 7 at halftime, but consecutive turnovers by burgeoning viral U.S. sensation Ilona Maher and veteran two-time Olympian Lauren Doyle gave Australia prime scoring chances deep in U.S. territory. The go-ahead score came with just 1:12 remaining in regulation when Australia's Maddison Levi scored a five-point try.

Levi's two-point conversion strayed wide, however, which provided the opportunity for the late U.S. heroics from Sedrick, a 5-foor-3 Utah native who was recruited to play at Life University in Georgia. She took a pass from teammate Ariana Ramsey just a few steps in front of her own end line, plowed over an Australian defender and went the rest of the way untouched to secure the five-pointer a few seconds after the final horn.

Importantly, she crossed the end line in the center of the field, which made the subsequent two-point kick a straight-ahead attempt. Australia had opened the scoring with a five-point try from Levi and a two-pointer from Tia Hinds in the match's first 90 seconds, before third-time Olympian Alev Kester evened it up for the U.S. with a minute to go in the first half.

The U.S. women finished fifth and sixth, respectively, at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.