Breanna Stewart scored 23 points to lead the United States to a 79-55 rout of Australia in the women’s basketball quarterfinals in Saitama, Japan, moving one step closer to the team’s seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal.
The Americans will face Serbia, the reigning European champion, in the semifinals on Friday. Serbia beat China on Wednesday.
The United States opened a 14-point lead after the first quarter, extended it to 21 points by halftime, pushed it to 30 in the third quarter and never looked back. Brittney Griner added 15 points and 8 rebounds and A’ja Wilson had 10 points against Australia, the world’s second-ranked team.
The United States ran its Olympic winning streak to 53 straight games. This year’s team leads the Olympic tournament in scoring, shooting percentage, rebounds, assists and blocks.