2024 Paris Olympics women's basketball score: A'ja Wilson, Team USA cruise past Nigeria to reach semifinals

The Americans are now just two wins away from their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal

The United States women's national basketball team continued its dominance with an 88-74 win over Nigeria in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday. Team USA has now won 59 Olympic games in a row, and its quest for a historic eighth consecutive gold medal will continue with a semifinal matchup against Australia on Friday.

Less than four minutes in, Napheesa Collier made a jumper to give the Americans a 6-4 lead, and they never trailed again. While Nigeria was able to hang around for a while -- it was a two-possession game in the middle of the second quarter -- Team USA eventually flexed its might. The Americans used a big surge late in the second quarter to push the lead up to 19 points at the break, then added another run early in the third to effectively end the game and put it on cruise control the rest of the way.

A'ja Wilson led Team USA with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Jackie Young added 15 points and Breanna Stewart chipped in 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. As a team, the Americans shot 54.8% from the field and had 31 assists on 34 field goals (though you also get assists on passes that lead to free throws in FIBA play).

Here are some key takeaways from the game:

Wilson remains unstoppable

The reigning WNBA MVP firmly established herself as the best player in the world this summer during the first half of the WNBA season, and she's kept up that form in the Olympics. She was terrific again on Wednesday, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. 

Wilson scored her first bucket just seconds into the game, and never looked back. All of Wilson's talent and versatility on the offensive end at times belies the fact that she's also 6-foot-4, and she used that advantage effectively against the undersized Nigerians, who didn't have any rotation players taller than 6-foot-2. 

For the tournament, Wilson is now averaging 20.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, both of which are best for second among all players, and shooting an astounding 61.8% from the field. 

Mostly a defensive masterclass 

A quick glance at the box score may not indicate a noteworthy defensive performance, but the final numbers were skewed by a furious late run by Nigeria in which they scored 15 points and made five of their final eight shots, including a buzzer-beating layup that irked Kahleah Copper and the Americans. 

But if you ignore the last few minutes, when Team USA was already thinking about the semifinals and Nigeria was desperately trying to make the final score more respectable, it was a brilliant defensive outing from the Americans. They held the Nigerians to 37.7% shooting from the field and forced 13 turnovers.

"The biggest thing is playing out of our defense," Young said. "Whenever we get stops we're able to get going in transition and play with the pace we want to play at."

The Americans will need to be just as locked in on that end of the floor when they face their biggest test of the tournament on Friday. 

Young steps up 

Ever since this squad's first game together, which resulted in a loss to Team WNBA during the WNBA All-Star Game, the biggest question has been who will step up to support Wilson and Breanna Stewart. Entering Wednesday's quarterfinal, there was still no definitive answer. 

Young may have finally changed that. Wilson's Las Vegas Aces teammate was moved into the starting lineup against Nigeria and finished with 15 points and three rebounds on 6-of-10 from the field. That performance came just days after she went for 19 points and four rebounds in the final group stage game versus Germany. 

Given her size, versatility and toughness, as well as her comfort with fitting in alongside other extremely talented players, it's strange that Young wasn't playing much early in the tournament. The fifth starting spot alongside Wilson, Stewart, Chelsea Gray and Napheesa Collier should be hers the rest of the way, and if she keeps performing like this, the Americans are only going to be more difficult to beat. 

[Aug 7, 2024 at 4:50 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

Third quarter: USA 76 -- Nigeria 48

It was all Team USA in the third quarter, and they've extended their advantage to 28 points heading into the fourth. Jackie Young had a big third quarter and is now up to a team-high 15 points, while A'ja Wilson (14) and Breanna Stewart (13) are also in double figures. 

[Aug 7, 2024 at 4:33 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

Team USA races out of the break

The Americans have started the second half on fire with six quick points to push their lead up to 25 points, and this one is getting out of hand. Team USA is now shooting 62% from the field for the game and the only time they don't get a clean look is when they turn it over. 

[Aug 7, 2024 at 4:18 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

Halftime: USA 52 -- Nigeria 33

Team USA used a late surge in the second quarter to build a 19 point lead going into halftime, and have likely put this one out of reach. Once again, it's Breana Stewart and A'ja Wilson leading the way for the Americans; they have 23 points and nine rebounds on 10-of-13 from the field. Defensively, Team USA has force 11 turnovers and held Nigeria to 40% shooting. 

[Aug 7, 2024 at 4:07 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

Nigeria hanging around

Nigeria is still down by double digits, but they've been more competitive so far than many would have expected. They done a much better job taking care of the ball in the second quarter and are finding enough buckets to hang around within striking distance. The final few minutes of this half will be crucial. Can they get within 10 at the break?

[Aug 7, 2024 at 3:54 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

First quarter: USA 26 -- Nigeria 17

Team USA controlled the first quarter, and only a few sloppy turnovers late in the frame prevented them from taking a double-digit lead into the break. Breanna Stewart has seven points to lead the way, and the Americans are shooting 58.8% from the field. On the other end, they've held Nigeria to 41.2% shooting and forced seven turnovers. 

[Aug 7, 2024 at 3:41 pm ET · Jack Maloney]

Team USA's defense dominating

The Americans have stifled Nigeria in the opening minutes here in the quarterfinals. We're five minutes into the game and Nigeria has only scored four points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field, and has turned it over five times. Team USA's size and athleticism is proving too much for Nigeria thus far.