The U.S. and Australia are set for the next chapter in their international women's basketball rivalry at the Olympics.
The teams will play in Friday's semifinals for a spot in Sunday's gold medal game. France will face Belgium in the other matchup.
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It has been a one-sided affair between the Americans and Australians. The Opals have never beaten the U.S. in Olympic competition, losing in the gold medal game in 2000, ‘04 and ’08. The Australians also lost to the U.S. in the semifinals of the 1996 and 2012 Olympics.
The U.S. and Australia met in the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Games in 2021, and once again the Ameticans came away with a win.
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Diana Taurasi, who has been a part of four of the U.S. wins over the Aussies, is worried about rooting interests in her home as she’s married to former Australian basketball standout Penny Taylor.
“It’s going to be a home divided ... I hope she wants Australia to win. She gave that team a world championship. She was MVP of the world,” Taurasi told The Associated Press. “You know, she has such an admiration for being Australian and for that team. And ... being a part of it for so, so long ... we know how hard that game is going to be. It’s never easy.”
Despite the lack of success, the Australians aren't afraid of the Americans since most of the Opals' roster plays in the WNBA with and against the U.S. players.
“I think the fact that we have so many players that are familiar with them and that have played with and against them helps,” Australia guard Sami Whitcomb said after the Opals beat Serbia in the quarterfinals Wednesday. “Obviously they’re phenomenal players, but I really like our group as well. I like how we match up. I think all you can do is play your best on the day and give your best on the day, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Like Taurasi, Lauren Jackson has been involved in many of those Australia-U.S showdowns, including the infamous incident involving Lisa Leslie in the 2000 Sydney gold medal game when the Aussie pulled off the U.S. star's hair extension.
The 43-year-old Jackson hasn't contributed much in this Olympics, but the fact she's still playing is a near miracle itself after she retired due to injuries in 2016.
The other semifinal matchup features the host French squad and medal-round newcomer Belgium. The teams have drawn the best crowds during the tournament. Belgium routinely drew close to 25,000 fans in the preliminary round that was played about 20 miles from the country's border in Lille, France.
The Belgian Cats have been on the rise lately internationally behind Emma Meesseman. They placed seventh in the Tokyo Games, fifth at the World Cup a year later and won the EuroBasket championship last year. Now they have a chance to win the country's first Olympic medal in basketball.
“People talk about us, people support us. Everywhere we go, they know us," Meesseman said. "So I’m sure this inspires a lot of people, no matter if they do sports or not. Just following a dream, we show it’s possible.”
Meesseman, who promised her teammates she'd dye her hair blonde by making the semifinals said they told her "if we make the final, I have to put the Belgium flag in it as well.”
Belgium coach Rachid Meziane is from France and was thrilled to have a chance to play against her home country in front of a packed crowd.
“Maybe it can be something amazing to play in this gym against French,” he said.
France rebounded from its lone loss of the tournament to rout Germany in the quarterfinals. Marine Johannes had a huge game, and the French team played tough defense on the Germans.
They were excited for a chance to once again play in front of the home crowd and potentially clinch a medal with a victory.
“Yeah, we can breathe again. There’s always, a little bit of stress, but the fact that we didn’t crack under it feels great,” French star Gabby Williams said. “But now we can kind of breathe a little bit easier. Not too much. But it feels great to get to the win.”
