Flag football has yet to make its Olympic debut, but the United States showed it has plenty of quarterback options for 2028 on its women’s basketball team.
Chemistry between WNBA teammates shone as Kelsey Plum launched a three-quarters court pass to A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray equaled the feat with a pass to Jackie Young that had the Bercy Arena announcer shouting “touchdown” during the United States’ 88-74 victory over Nigeria in the basketball quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The U.S. march toward an unprecedented eighth Olympic gold medal continued with ruthless offensive efficiency as the Americans had 31 assists on 34 made field goals, led by six from Alyssa Thomas. With a 59-game Olympic winning streak, the United States will play Australia in the semifinals on Friday after the Opals took down Serbia on Wednesday.
Young got her first start of the Paris Olympics, subbing into the starting lineup for Diana Taurasi. Young, a three-time All-Star with the Aces, finished with 15 points on six-of-10 shooting.
Taurasi, the first U.S. basketball player to appear in six Olympics, averaged 0.7 points in less than 12 minutes per each pool play game. But the 42-year-old Chino native’s influence goes beyond her stats as she acts “like another coach,” forward Napheesa Collier said last week. Coming off the bench, Wednesday, Taurasi had three points and four assists.
Although inexperienced next to Taurasi, Young is no Olympic rookie. The former Notre Dame star helped the United States to a gold medal in 3-on-3 basketball in Tokyo along with Plum.
One-third of the U.S. roster comes from the two-time defending WNBA champion Aces, with Gray and Wilson also returning for their second Olympics.
“Chels, Jack and A are the best players in the world at their position,” Plum told reporters last week after the United States’ opening win against Japan. “So any time that we can play together, it’s just great because we already have chemistry. But what I love about them is they’re here to be Team USA. We know we’re not Vegas here, we’re Team USA. Everyone’s a great teammate.”
The chemistry between the Aces teammates was evident as the United States turned a slim four-point lead into a blowout by halftime. Wilson, Young and Plum combined for 15 points of the team’s 21-6 scoring run in the final six minutes and 28 seconds of the second quarter. From there, they passed it to WNBA rival-turned national team ally Breanna Stewart, who plays for the New York Liberty. The two-time WNBA MVP finished the streak with six consecutive points. She finished with 13 points.