By DOUG FEINBERG
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — The U.S. has incredible depth that no country can match, and it has played a key role in its unprecedented run of seven straight Olympic gold medals.
The Americans can wear down their opponents by sending wave after wave of WNBA All-Stars to the court. They did that again on Sunday, beating Germany 87-68 to extend their record streak to 58 consecutive Olympic wins dating to the 1992 Barcelona Games.
“We’re not the USA dynasty without it,” coach Cheryl Reeve said of the depth. “I think it’s what defines the dynasty is the depth of talent that the USA has.”
Jackie Young scored 19 of the reserves’ 52 points, helping the Americans clinch the top seed in their pool.
“It’s incredible. I mean that’s what makes us legendary,” said A’ja Wilson, who had 14 points. “That’s what makes us one of the best teams, in the world that we can sub five and five out and there’s no drop-off.”
The U.S. (3-0) will learn later Sunday night which team it is going to face in the quarterfinals Wednesday in Paris. Germany (2-1), which is playing in its first Olympics, also is headed to the quarterfinals.
The two teams played an exhibition game in London right before the Olympics, and the Americans came away with an easy 84-57 victory that night.
The Germans got off to a strong start Sunday as they jumped out to a 17-8 lead midway through the first quarter. Leonie Fiebich, who plays with Sabrina Ionescu and Stewart on the New York Liberty, had eight of those points.
The U.S. didn’t panic.
With the starters struggling a bit, Reeve turned to the next five players — Ionescu, Jewell Loyd, Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas and Young.
“I mean, I think that’s what makes our team special. We have a lot of lineups, a lot of things that we can do,” Thomas said. “We didn’t have the best start and did a line change and jump-started the game.”
That second group closed the gap to 19-16 after the first quarter. The Americans started the second quarter with a 21-5 run and were up 41-29 at the break.
Reeve changed her starting backcourt to begin the third quarter, with Loyd and Ionescu replacing Diana Taurasi and Chelsea Gray. The pair played the first six minutes of the game and didn’t return. The 42-year-old Taurasi is chasing a record sixth Olympic gold medal.
The coach said the pair was OK when asked if they were fine physically.
The Germans scored the first five points of the third and were down 49-41 before the U.S. took control with six straight points by Kelsey Plum. The lead stayed in double digits the rest of the way.
“The athleticism and the skill level they can bring in off the bench, I mean you’re bringing Brittney Griner off the bench,” German coach Lisa Thomaidis said. “I mean that’s just, that’s just another level. So yeah I mean they’re the best team in the world for a reason. But it was a great game for us. I thought we showed some good things and flashes and some other things that we need to really clean up and be better.”
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Germany had a scare when Fiebich got sandwiched between two U.S. players in the third quarter and had to be helped off the court. She didn’t return and finished with 10 points.
Thomaidis said she hadn’t talked to the trainers yet, so didn’t know the extent of the injury.
Satou Sabally scored 15 and Alexis Peterson had 14 for Germany.
Germany was once again without Nyara Sabally, who sat for the second consecutive game because she’s in concussion protocol after being helped off the court in the Germans’ opening win.
In other games on Sunday, Nigeria became the first African country to advance to the quarterfinals with a 79-70 win over Canada. Belgium also advanced to the elimination round with a 27-point win over Japan. Australia and France met later Sunday in the final game of group play.
