Games of the XXXth Olympiad -- 2012
London, England • July 28 - August 11, 2012
The U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team entered the 2012 Olympic Games in London as four-time defending champions, something no other women’s traditional team sport had done in the history of the Games.
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2012 USA RESULTS (8-0)
2012 OLYMPIC GAMES FINAL STANDINGS
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Led by the heartbeat of the team, tri-captains and three-time Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings and Diana Taurasi, the U.S. left no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was the best team in the tournament.
Just how dominant was the squad that went 8-0 and upped the USA’s Olympic winning streak, which dates to the 1992 bronze medal game, to 41-0? Consider this: in scoring an average of 90.6 points a game and limiting opponents to just 56.2 points, the USA’s scoring margin of +34.4 points was far and beyond better than the next team’s scoring margin. Australia, which claimed the bronze and ranked second in this category, owned a slim +5.2 scoring margin over opponents.
In all, the USA sat atop nearly every major statistical category. In addition to scoring, it was No. 1 in field goal percentage, defensive field goal percentage, rebounding, defensive rebounding, rebounding margin, blocked shots, assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Individually, the well-rounded effort saw 10 players average between 6.0 and 12.4 points a game and every player averaged fewer than 25 minutes a contest.
The U.S. won its five preliminary round games by an average of 36.6 points a game, beginning with an 81-56 victory over Croatia on July 28 as Tina Charles paced the U.S. with 14 points in her Olympic debut.
Candace Parker then posted 14 points to lead the USA to a 90-38 rout of Angola; while Angel McCoughtry shot 10-of-11 from the line and finished with a team-best 18 points as the U.S. defeated Turkey 89-58 in its third contest.
The U.S. behind 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point by Taurasi, erased an early 10-0 deficit and took down the Czech Republic 88-61. Closing preliminary play on Aug. 5. with a 114-66 victory over China, the USA was again led by Taurasi, who scored 22 points.
Advancing undefeated to the quarterfinals, the U.S. received a team-high 15 points from Taurasi en route to dispatching Canada 91-48.
Meeting rival Australia in the semifinals, the Americans trailed at halftime for the first time since the third game of the 2000 Olympics, but came back and claimed their closest victory of the tournament, 86-73, behind 14 points apiece from Charles and Taurasi.
In the gold medal game the U.S. faced also unbeaten France, which was no match for the well-oiled American machine as the Americans collected an 86-50 and the gold medal behind a 21-point, 11-rebound performance from Parker.
Bird, Catchings and Taurasi were the undisputed leaders in London. The team also featured four atheltes who had one Olympics under their belt and were a collective steady influence on the team in London, including 2004 gold medalist Swin Cash and 2008 gold medalists Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles and Parker.
However, it was the group of rookies who made a statement to the world that the U.S. will remain a force to be reckoned with in 2016. McCoughtry was the USA’s second leading scorer, while Charles ranked third for scoring and second for rebounding. Also competing in their first Olympic Games were Asjha Jones, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen, all of whom contributed a powerful burst of energy for the U.S. team.
2012 USA OLYMPIC TEAM ROSTER
| NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | AGE | WNBA TEAM / COLLEGE | HOMETOWN |
| Seimone Augustus | F | 6-1 | 170 | 28 | Minnesota Lynx / Louisiana State | Baton Rouge, LA |
| Sue Bird | G | 5-9 | 150 | 31 | Seattle Storm / Connecticut | Syosset, NY |
| Swin Cash | F | 6-1 | 162 | 32 | Chicago Sky / Connecticut | McKeesport, PA |
| Tamika Catchings | F | 6-0 | 166 | 33 | Indiana Fever / Tennessee | Duncanville, TX |
| Tina Charles | C | 6-3 | 193 | 23 | Connecticut Sun / Connecticut | Jamaica, NY |
| Sylvia Fowles | C | 6-6 | 200 | 26 | Chicago Sky / Louisiana State | Miami, FL |
| Asjha Jones | F | 6-3 | 196 | 32 | Connecticut Sun / Connecticut | Piscataway, NJ |
| Maya Moore | F | 6-0 | 170 | 23 | Minnesota Lynx / Connecticut | Lawrenceville, GA |
| Angel McCoughtry | F | 6-1 | 160 | 25 | Atlanta Dream / Louisville | Baltimore, MD |
| Candace Parker | F/C/G | 6-4 | 172 | 26 | Los Angeles Sparks / Tennessee | Naperville, IL |
| Diana Taurasi | G/F | 6-0 | 165 | 30 | Phoenix Mercury / Connecticut | Chino, CA |
| Lindsay Whalen | G | 5-9 | 150 | 30 | Minnesota Lynx / Minnesota | Hutchinson, MN |
| Head Coach: Geno Auriemma, University of Connecticut | ||||||
| Assistant Coach: Doug Bruno, DePaul University | ||||||
| Assistant Coach: Jennifer Gillom, Washington Mystics | ||||||
| Assistant Coach: Marynell Meadors, Atlanta Dream | ||||||
| Team Physician: Don Roberts, Portland Trailblazers | ||||||
| Athletic Trainer: Ed Ryan, Colorado Springs, Colorado | ||||||
2012 USA OLYMPIC TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
| NAME | G/S | FGM-A | PCT | 3PM-A | PCT | FTM-A | PCT | REB | PTS | AT | BK | ST |
| Taurasi | 8/8 | 30- 66 | .455 | 15- 35 | .429 | 24- 25 | .960 | 24/ 3.0 | 99/12.4 | 23 | 2 | 7 |
| McCoughtry | 8/0 | 31- 50 | .620 | 1- 5 | .200 | 24- 31 | .774 | 37/ 4.6 | 87/10.9 | 17 | 6 | 20 |
| Charles | 8/6 | 36- 82 | .439 | 0- 0 | .--- | 12- 18 | .667 | 59/ 7.4 | 84/10.5 | 14 | 5 | 5 |
| Parker | 8/3 | 38- 75 | .507 | 0- 0 | .--- | 8- 14 | .571 | 62/ 7.8 | 84/10.5 | 16 | 10 | 4 |
| Moore | 8/5 | 32- 69 | .464 | 6- 24 | .250 | 2- 3 | .667 | 45/ 5.6 | 72/9.0 | 21 | 3 | 12 |
| Whalen | 8/0 | 24- 45 | .533 | 0- 4 | .000 | 16- 19 | .842 | 23/ 2.9 | 64/8.0 | 19 | 0 | 8 |
| Augustus | 8/0 | 28- 65 | .431 | 2- 10 | .200 | 4- 6 | .667 | 20/ 2.5 | 62/7.8 | 11 | 2 | 6 |
| Catchings | 8/8 | 20- 45 | .444 | 1- 6 | .167 | 8- 16 | .500 | 39/ 4.9 | 49/6.1 | 17 | 5 | 13 |
| Bird | 8/8 | 21- 43 | .488 | 7- 21 | .333 | 0- 0 | .--- | 17/ 2.1 | 49/6.1 | 36 | 0 | 2 |
| Fowles | 5/0 | 11- 18 | .611 | 0- 0 | .--- | 8- 10 | .800 | 18/ 3.6 | 30/6.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Cash | 7/0 | 7- 17 | .412 | 0- 0 | .--- | 9- 11 | .818 | 10/ 1.4 | 23/3.3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Jones | 7/2 | 11- 22 | .500 | 0- 0 | .--- | 0- 0 | .--- | 12/ 1.7 | 22/3.1 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| USA | 8 | 289-597 | .484 | 32-105 | .305 | 115-153 | .752 | 404/50.5 | 725/90.6 | 185 | 41 | 84 |
| OPP. | 8 | 170-517 | .329 | 41-149 | .275 | 69- 95 | .726 | 266/33.2 | 450/56.2 | 110 | 17 | 40 |
