RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Another impressive outing by the U.S. women’s basketball team Saturday afternoon made Maya Moore a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
The Collins Hill grad led the way again for the Americans, who rolled to a 101-72 win over Spain on Saturday for their sixth straight gold medal and 49th straight victory in the Olympics. The U.S. juggernaut took a 17-point lead at halftime and cemented its place in history by cruising from there.
Only two other teams can claim such a run of domination in an Olympic team sport — the U.S. men’s basketball’s team’s seven straight gold medals from 1936-1968 and India’s six straight in men’s field hockey from 1928-1956.
“It’s one thing to do the unexpected, it’s another to do what you are expected to do year-after-year, game-after-game, quarter-after-quarter,” Moore said. “This team didn’t get complacent. I think that is the sign of a true champion, someone who loves the game.”
Moore, also a member of the 2012 gold-medal team, scored 14 points in Saturday’s finals and also had a team-high six assists and five rebounds. Lindsey Whalen and Diana Taurasi, who had 17 points each, led the U.S. in scoring.
In eight Olympic games, Moore averaged 12 points, trailing only Taurasi for the team lead. She also averaged a team-high 5.6 rebounds and led the Americans with 34 assists and 16 steals.
“It’s mind boggling when you think about it what this team has been able to accomplish, this program,” said U.S. coach Geno Auriemma. “There is such a level of expectation, such a level of respect and it filters down. Everyone who puts that jersey on they get it. We’re doing stuff that may never be done again.”
With the U.S. victory, Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings and Taurasi joined former teammates Teresa Edwards and Lisa Leslie as the only players to win four gold medals in basketball.
“It’s pretty incredible,” said 34-year-old Taurasi, who left the door open for a possible fifth Olympic run. “We had the goal to win the gold medal but there is something more to it than that. It’s not about one person, one coach, it’s about how can we make this the best basketball team ever.”
Team USA captain Bird, who sat out the semi-finals with a knee injury, was back in the lineup and was also non-committal about her national team future while Catchings confirmed Saturday’s gold medal game was her last.
Humbled 103-63 by the U.S. in preliminary round play, Spain had looked determined to offer more resistance in the final, holding a 17-14 lead late in the opening quarter.
But after Angel McCoughtry hit a layup and connected on two free throw attempts the U.S. never trailed again.
It was the latest in a career of triumphs for Moore, the first female to be endorsed by Nike’s Jordan Brand. The forward won state titles her final three seasons at Collins Hill, two national titles as a four-time consensus All-American at Connecticut and three WNBA titles in her first five seasons with the Minnesota Lynx. She was the WNBA rookie of the year in 2011, the league MVP in 2014 and the finals MVP in 2013. At UConn, she scored 3,036 career points, the fourth-most in NCAA history.
From the Gwinnett daily post
MAYA MOORE FANSITE | TEAM MAYA 