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Japan will be taking on the U.S. women's hockey team for the gold.



TOKYO — The Olympic women’s basketball tournament concludes late Sunday morning (Saturday night in the United States) with a potentially lopsided matchup between the United States and Japan. (Follow live coverage here.)

But surprises happen. Japan will have home court advantage (though, yes, the arena is off limits to paying spectators) and will be gunning for a huge upset to add another gold medal to the country’s impressive overall haul.

When the teams met earlier in this tournament, in group play, the Americans won by 17. In every facet of the game — skill, speed, size, strength, to name a few — the United States is expected to be superior. (The Americans, who haven’t lost an Olympic game since 1992, notched their 54th consecutive win on Friday after romping past Serbia, 79-59.)

The final on Sunday could represent the end of the road for two longtime superstars, both of whom are aiming for their fifth gold medals: Sue Bird has said these Olympics will be her last, while Diana Taurasi has hinted at it.

“Last dance, baby!” Taurasi yelled as she walked back to the locker room after the team’s semifinal win.

The Japanese will pin their hopes on their ability to connect from deep range. They lead all teams in 3-point shooting, hitting at a 40.9 percent rate.

The Americans will have to keep an eye on two sharpshooters in particular: Yuki Miyazawa has drained 19 3-pointers in this tournament and Saki Hayashi has made 17. Miyazawa is shooting 45.2 percent from 3-point range, while Hayashi is shooting 50.0 percent. But the Japanese team will not have much experience to lean on: This is its first time making it to the medal round in basketball.