A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, a pair of WNBA MVPs, take over in the paint as the Americans pull away from Japan in their group play opener.
A'ja Wilson scored eight of the Americans' first 10 points and finished with a team-high 24 points to go with 13 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
While the U.S. women have more than enough firepower to win their eighth straight Olympic gold medal without Clark, the Indiana Fever rookie who became a national sensation during her record-breaking college career at Iowa, they found it much harder to win hearts and minds during their opener. The manic fan excitement and intense media coverage that Clark has generated in WNBA arenas was nowhere to be found during the U.S. women’s opener, which tipped off at 9 p.m.
Thanks to those wide margins, the United States was able to survive a 4-for-20 shooting night from outside, while Japan shot 15-for-39 from deep. U.S. guard Sabrina Ionescu said Coach Cheryl Reeve instructed them at halftime to “not get bored” with what was working inside. While that controversial decision spawned weeks of debates given Clark’s status as the sport’s most popular player, Reeve has repeatedly stood by the selection committee’s choices. However, South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley, a member of the selection committee,
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