Games of the XXVIIth Olympiad -- 2000
Sydney, Australia • September 15 - October 1, 2000
After earning a 38-2 pre-Olympic exhibition record, the United States rolled to an 8-0 record and the gold medal after defeating host Australia 76-54 in the final contest in Sydney. In the bronze medal game, which went into overtime, Brazil defeated South Korea 84-73.
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2000 USA RESULTS (8-0)
2000 OLYMPIC GAMES FINAL STANDINGS
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Pacing the American effort was Lisa Leslie, 15.8 ppg., Sheryl Swoopes averaged 13.4 ppg. and Yolanda Griffith added 11.5 ppg. Griffith led the squad on the glass, averaging 8.8 rpg., while Leslie recorded 7.9 rpg. and Natalie Williams added 5.9 RPG. Team co-captains Dawn Staley and Teresa Edwards, along with Swoopes, dished out 3.6 apg., 3.4 apg. and 3.0 apg., respectively.
The U.S. team competed with just 11 members after a MRI on Sept. 15 revealed the start of a stress fracture in Chamique Holdsclaw's right foot.
The gold medal game marked the end of a brilliant 20-year career which included five Olympic Games for Edwards. Edwards, who has played since 1981 on 22 different USA teams, had previously announced that this would be her final international competition. She capped her career with a grand total of 2,008 points for USA Basketball and lists as the USA's all-time Olympic career leader for games played (32), assists (143) and steals (59), and ranks second in scoring (265).
The USA won all five of its preliminary round games in convincing fashion, defeating South Korea 89-75 on Sept. 16; Cuba 90-51 on Sept. 18; Russia 88-77 on Sept. 20; New Zealand 93-42 on Sept. 22 and Poland 76-57 on Sept. 24.
Advancing as the top seed in Group B, the United States earned a 58-43 quarterfinal win over Slovakia on Sept. 27, with the help of 18 points and five rebounds from Leslie and 13 points and 11 rebounds from Griffith.
In the medal semifinal after leading 42-40 at halftime the USA dominated the second half and went on to defeat South Korea 78-55 on Sept. 29. Swoopes led all scorers with 19 points, Leslie recorded a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, Williams collected 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Griffith recorded 10 points and eight rebounds.
The USA capped its brilliant eight game run with a rousing 76-54 victory over host Australia to win the gold medal on Sept. 30. With Australia trailing by three, 26-23 at the 8:43 mark, the U.S. reeled off nine straight points to take a 35-23 advantage with 4:44 remaining until halftime. By half, the USA's lead was 13, 43-30. The second half saw the U.S. continue to increase its lead as it ran away with the gold.
The U.S. in the win relied on a balanced scoring attack that saw four players score in double figures, including a team high 15 points and nine rebounds from both Leslie and reserve forward Williams. Swoopes added 14 points and nine rebounds for the U.S., while Griffith chipped in with a double-double of 13 points and a team high 12 rebounds.
| NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | AGE | TEAM | SCHOOL | HOMETOWN |
| Ruthie Bolton | G | 5-8 | 150 | 33 | Sacramento Monarchs | Auburn '89 | McClain, MS |
| Teresa Edwards | G | 5-11 | 155 | 36 | n/a | Georgia '86 | Cairo, GA |
| Yolanda Griffith | F | 6-3 | 175 | 30 | Sacramento Monarchs | Florida Atlantic '94 | Chicago, IL |
| Chamique Holdsclaw | F | 6-2 | 166 | 23 | Washington Mystics | Tennessee '99 | Astoria, NY |
| Lisa Leslie | F/C | 6-5 | 170 | 28 | Los Angeles Sparks | Southern Cal '94 | Hawthorne, CA |
| Nikki McCray | G | 5-11 | 158 | 28 | Washington Mystics | Tennessee '95 | Collierville, TN |
| DeLisha Milton | C | 6-1 | 170 | 26 | Los Angeles Sparks | Florida '97 | Riceboro, GA |
| Katie Smith | G | 5-11 | 173 | 26 | Minnesota Lynx | Ohio State '96 | Logan, OH |
| Dawn Staley | G | 5-6 | 125 | 30 | Charlotte Sting | Virginia '92 | Philadelphia, PA |
| Sheryl Swoopes | G/F | 6-0 | 145 | 29 | Houston Comets | Texas Tech '93 | Brownfield, TX |
| Natalie Williams | F | 6-2 | 177 | 29 | Utah Starzz | UCLA '94 | Taylorsville, UT |
| Kara Wolters | C | 6-7 | 210 | 25 | Indiana Fever | Connecticut '97 | Holliston, MA |
| Head Coach: Nell Fortner, USA Basketball | |||||||
| Assistant Coach: Geno Auriemma, University of Connecticut | |||||||
| Assistant Coach: Peggie Gillom, Texas A&M University | |||||||
| USA National Team Assistant Coach: Julie Plank, Indiana Fever | |||||||
| Team Physician: Dave Walden, Colorado Springs, Colorado | |||||||
| Athletic Trainer: Ed Ryan, U.S. Olympic Committee | |||||||
2000 USA WOMEN’S OLYMPIC TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
| NAME | G/S | FGM-A | PCT | 3PM-A | PCT | FTM-A | PCT | REB | AVG | AT | BK | ST | PTS | AVG |
| Leslie | 8-8 | 48-98 | .490 | 3-7 | .429 | 27-39 | .692 | 63 | 7.9 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 126 | 15.8 |
| Swoopes | 8-8 | 46-89 | .517 | 6-19 | .316 | 9-13 | .692 | 37 | 4.6 | 24 | 3 | 8 | 107 | 13.4 |
| Griffith | 8-8 | 37-54 | .685 | 0-0 | .000 | 18-24 | .750 | 70 | 8.8 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 92 | 11.5 |
| Williams | 8-0 | 22-39 | .564 | 0-0 | .000 | 17-25 | .680 | 47 | 5.9 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 61 | 7.6 |
| Smith | 8-0 | 20-39 | .513 | 12-20 | .600 | 2-3 | .667 | 5 | 0.6 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 54 | 6.8 |
| Edwards | 8-8 | 19-31 | .613 | 3-6 | .500 | 8-10 | .800 | 15 | 1.9 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 49 | 6.1 |
| McCray | 8-8 | 16-40 | .400 | 1-2 | .500 | 8-10 | .800 | 7 | 0.9 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 41 | 5.1 |
| Bolton | 8-0 | 15-46 | .326 | 7-27 | .259 | 3-6 | .500 | 16 | 2.0 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 40 | 5.0 |
| Milton | 8-0 | 16-31 | .516 | 0-0 | .000 | 4-8 | .500 | 19 | 2.6 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 36 | 4.5 |
| Staley | 8-0 | 9-19 | .474 | 2-4 | .500 | 12-12 | 1.000 | 10 | 1.3 | 29 | 0 | 7 | 32 | 4.0 |
| Wolters | 6-0 | 5-12 | .417 | 0-0 | .000 | 0-3 | .000 | 12 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 1.7 |
| Holdsclaw | DNP -- Injured | |||||||||||||
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| USA | 8 | 253-498 | .508 | 34-85 | .400 | 108-153 | .706 | 301 | 37.6 | 134 | 22 | 61 | 648 | 81.0 |
| OPP | 8 | 169-448 | .377 | 32-103 | .311 | 104-132 | .788 | 183 | 22.9 | 78 | 12 | 36 | 474 | 59.3 |
