The Opals kept their dream alive at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a huge win against Serbia in the quarterfinals. Their next opponent is the gold medal favourites, USA, who they’ll take on this Saturday morning (1:30am AEST). We have you covered with a full game preview and best bet below!
2024 Paris Olympic Games – Women’s Basketball
Australia vs USA (Saturday 1:30am AEST)
The Opals managed to avenged their counterparts, the Boomers, with a big win over Serbia in the quarterfinals to book their place in the semi-finals in Paris, which means at worst they’ll be competing for a bronze medal.
It’s been a roller-coaster campaign for Australia’s Opals who began with a massive shock loss against Nigeria in their opening group game. However, they recovered beautifully to secure wins over Canada and France in their last two group games before conquering Serbia in the quarters.
Alanna Smith has been the most consistent threat for the Australian women and had a monster game in the quarters with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Jade Melbourne controlled the play with her 17 points and five assists.
Meanwhile, USA have extended their winning streak in the Olympic games to an unimaginable 58 thanks to their four wins to date in Paris. They took care of Germany, Belgium, and Japan in their group before accounting for Nigeria by 14 points in the quarters.
Indeed, the Americans are a mighty outfit and have by far the most talented squad in the competition. They’ve been untouchable in the women’s competition with gold medals in nine of the past 10 Olympics and suffering just one loss in total across the span.
Game Prediction: To say it would take a monumental effort for the Opals to win this semi-final matchup is a monumental understatement. The American women are absolutely dynamite and have the advantage all over the floor. They’re on a 58-game unbeaten run at the Olympics for a reason and should dominate Australia.
