Brittney Griner shines as Team USA wins seventh straight gold

Team USA’s Olympic dominance continues.

The U.S. women’s basketball team clinched its seventh consecutive gold medal, defeating Japan 90-75 on Sunday in Tokyo.

Brittney Griner led the U.S. with a a game-high 30 points on 14-of-18 shooting. Griner set a record for the most points scored by an American in a gold-medal game, surpassing Lisa Leslie’s 29 points in 1996. The Phoenix Mercury center dominated competition at the Tokyo Olympics, averaging 16 points per game on 73.7 percent shooting from the field.

'@BrittneyGriner continues to shine tonight!#TokyoOlympics x @TeamUSA

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— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2021

After the game, Griner said she was focused on helping secure a historic fifth gold medal for Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird.

“To be a part of this, her fifth, the team’s seventh, it means everything to me, honestly,” Griner said.

"Even on the court I'm like, 'yo, I get to play with @DianaTaurasi.'"@BrittneyGriner on winning her second gold medal, and seeing DT and @S10bird win their fifth. #TokyoOlympics x @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/cm1odYsYVU

— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2021

A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart added to Team USA’s offensive charge, with Wilson notching 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Stewart recording 14 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

Team USA’s complete performance on both sides of the ball proved too much for Japan, whose remarkable turnaround under fourth-year head coach Tom Hovasse resulted in its first Olympic medal. Maki Takada led Japan with 17 points, while Olympic breakout star Rui Machida dished out six assists.