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| Team USA won the women's basketball gold to clinch the Paris Olympics overall championship. Reuters |
MANILA--In what could be one of the most memorable down-the-wire moments in Olympic basketball history, Team USA did not just retain the women's hoops crown but also walked away as the overall champion of the Paris Olympics.
Team USA survived a late scare from host team France in the women's basketball final for a 67-66 victory at the Accor Arena, which turned out to be the clincher too in terms of the overall leaderboard.
With the women's basketball pennant, its eighth straight and seventh in a row since the WNBA was founded before the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Team USA clinched its 40th gold in the games, which tied China at number one.
However, thanks to an overwhelming 44-27 lead in silver medals, Team USA clinched the tiebreaker and will leave the French capital's metropolitan area as the overall champion.
China's last gold came from weightlifter Li Wenwen, who ruled the women's heavyweight event at the South Paris Arena 6.
However, word came from the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome in the nearby town of Montigny-le-Bretonneux that Jennifer Valente won the women's track cycling omnium event for Team USA's 39th gold after amassing 144 points over four races, 13 clear of Poland's Daria Pikulik, who despite winning the final points race could only settle for the silver.
China probably got some good news minutes later as Team USA was swept by Italy, 25-18, 25-20, 25-17, in the women's volleyball final at the South Paris Arena 1, and the Chinese team began hoping for a French shocker in the women's basketball final.
In a surprising manner, Team USA, projected to beat France by a huge margin, struggled to pull away following an error-prone first half that ended in a 25-all deadlock.
The upset-seeking French squad, led by naturalized player Gabby Williams, shocked Team USA at the start of the third quarter, going on a 10-0 run to open a 35-25 lead.
The Americans, though, finished the third quarter strong and took a 45-43 lead at the end of the period, but a wild fourth quarter still beckoned.
Within the final 2:34 of the game, Williams took over for France, almost singlehandedly keeping her team alive in crunch time.
Williams even thought she forced overtime after hitting a Hail Mary shot seemingly from 22 feet out with her team down three, but as replays showed, she had one foot stepping on the three-point line and her buzzer-beater was only counted for two points, giving Team USA a sigh of relief and France a heartbreak.
A'Ja Wilson led Team USA with 21 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks, and one steal, while Kelsey Plum and Kahleah Cooper each added 12 markers.
Plum and Cooper, who were both perfect from the free-throw line at 6-for-6 each, converted clutch charities that kept Team USA in control of the game despite Williams' late push.
Williams, who last played for the Seattle Storm in the WNBA before staying put in Europe, led France with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
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