USA (6-0):
USA earned the country’s eighth consecutive gold medal with a 67-66 victory over France.
USA came back from a double-digit deficit in the second half as Sabrina Ionescu helped spark a 10-3 run for USA after entering the game for the final 4:33 of the third quarter. Ionescu recorded three assists and two rebounds with a +3 plus-minus over 9:53 of playing time against France as she earned her first career gold medal.
Ionescu’s +6.5 plus-minus per game was tied for the eighth-best average plus-minus among all players in Paris.
Breanna Stewart helped seal the game and her third gold medal by blocking France’s potential game-tying three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining in the final quarter and finished with eight points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Stewart was one of three players to reach 10 total blocked shots in Paris and ranked third in blocks per game (1.7). She was also one of just three players to record a plus-minus better than +10.0 per game, as USA outscored opponents by 11.8 points per game in her minutes.
Breanna also finished the Olympics ranked third in total points (98) and seventh in points per game (16.3), while ranking fourth in both average field goals made (6.3) and average two-point field goals made (5.7) per game.
Stewart finished sixth in field-goal percentage in Paris (min. eight attempts per game) as she made 56.7% of her shots from the field. She also made 64.7% of her two-point field goal attempts, which ranked third in Paris (min. six attempts per game).
France (4-2):
France took home a silver medal with the loss to USA after coming in third at Tokyo. The hosts ended the first half tied at 25 and held a 10-point lead in the third quarter of the Gold Medal matchup, which was USA’s largest deficit during any match in Paris.
Marine Johannès came off the bench to score nine points with two rebounds in the loss. Her assist on a Gabby Williams jump shot at the buzzer nearly sent the game into overtime, but it was ruled as a two-pointer with Williams’ foot on the line.
Johannès finished with the second-most total three-pointers (14) in Paris and averaged the sixth-most three-pointers made per game (2.3). She averaged 11.7 points in 21.6 minutes per game for the hosts.
Marine Fauthoux helped lead an 8-0 run for France after halftime against USA, as she made a three-pointer and grabbed two rebounds over the first three minutes of the second half. Fauthoux also knocked down a three-pointer from the logo in the first half and finished with eight points and three rebounds with a +5 plus-minus.
Fauthoux averaged 4.2 points and shot 100% (8-8) from the free-throw line in Paris and she ended the tournament with the fifth-best plus-minus per game among all players (+7.7) and the second-best on France. At 13.7 minutes per game, Fauthoux was the only player among the tournament’s top seven in average plus-minus to play fewer than 15 minutes per game.
Australia (4-2):
Australia won the Bronze Medal by defeating Belgium, 85-81, to finish at the podium for the first time since 2012. Australia’s 85 points in the Bronze Medal match was the second-highest points total by a Belgium opponent in Paris, behind USA’s 87 points.
Sandy Brondello, who was a player on the squad that won Australia the country’s first women’s basketball medal in 1996, earned her first medal as a coach and her fourth overall. Brondello’s squad ranked second in defensive rebounds per game in Paris, at 31.0.