Wilson Leads U.S. to Eighth-Straight Olympic Gold
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina alumna A’ja Wilson dominated the second half of a tough final game at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, leading the United States to a 67-66 win over France in the gold medal game. It marks the eighth-consecutive Olympic gold medal for the U.S., which is the longest gold medal streak in traditional team sports. For the tournament, Wilson led the U.S. in points, rebounds, blocks and steals.
In the final game of the tournament, Wilson shook off a tough offensive first half that saw her register just six points but still battle for nine rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. With the game tied at the half, the U.S. fell behind by double digits early in the third quarter. Wilson dialed in her shot, adding eight points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line to power the Americans back to a two-point lead by the end of the quarter.
The fourth quarter went back and forth with a myriad of ties and narrow leads by both teams. Wilson’s last free throw put the Americans up by four with 17 seconds left, but France would not yield. The U.S. hit free throws down the stretch to hold off the home team to secure its history-making gold medal. Wilson finished the game with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, including seven points in the decisive fourth quarter.
Wilson’s Tournament MVP performance included 18.7 points per game, which was third in the tournament, 10.2 rebounds per game (2nd), and a tournament-best 2.7 blocks per game. She posted four 20-point outings, hitting double-digits in rebounds all four games as well, making her four double-doubles in six games twice as many as the next competitors in the tournament. Wilson shot 59.2 percent from the field, to rank third in the event, and her 16.0 plus-minus average led the tournament.
The 2024 Olympic gold medal is Wilson’s second after she guided the Dawn Staley-led American team to gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as well.
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