The athletes of the XXII Olympic Winter Games arrived earlier to enjoy today’s Closing Ceremony at Fisht Olympic Stadium.
Instead of an official Parade of Nations, all competitors came in together with Julie Chu of the U.S. women’s hockey team serving as the Americans’ flagbearer.
You can watch the Closing Ceremony LIVE on NBCOlympics.com RIGHT NOW.
NBC will also air coverage of the event tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET. Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, and Vladimir Pozner will serve as the hosts.
SYDNEY — There’s been a long legacy of success for the U.S. women’s basketball team at the World Cup.
The names change over time, but the results don’t seem to.
Kelsey Plum scored 20 points, Chelsea Gray added 16 and the United States routed Bosnia and Herzegovina 121-59 on Tuesday to break the team record for consecutive wins at the World Cup.
The victory was the 27th in a row in World Cup play for the Americans, who haven’t lost since the 2006 semifinals against Russia. The U.S. won 26 in a row from 1994-2006 leading up to that game. The Soviet Union holds the World Cup record with 56 straight wins from 1959-86.
“It’s kind of amazing,” said Breanna Stewart, who has been part of the last three World Cup teams. “Obviously, been here for some of it, but you understand the legends before that who really kind of started the streak. It goes to show that no matter who is playing on USA Basketball, we’re always trying to chase excellence.
“This streak doesn’t mean much right now because we’re going into the quarterfinals and focusing on winning a gold medal, but it’s something to kind of hang your hat on later.”
What started with Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Sylvia Fowles has now been passed on to Stewart and A’ja Wilson. A legacy of excellence that doesn’t appear it will end anytime soon.
“The players change and, you know, there was a lot of concern about who’s next,” U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve said. “It was a concern when Dawn Staley and Lisa Leslie were playing and who was going to be next. Then it was Sue and (Taurasi) and then other great players, too. Now with this group they are saying, hey, we’re pretty good, too.”
MORE: FIBA World Cup Schedule, Results
The U.S. last lost a group play game in 1975, according to Bill Mallon of Olympedia.org.
“We know the responsibility when you put on this jersey. There’s a lot more than yourself,” Plum said. “Everyone puts pride to the side. We have a common goal. We have some amazing players on this team.”
The Americans (5-0) won their pool games by an average of 46.2 points and never trailed in any of them. Now they play Serbia in the quarterfinals.
The U.S. was coming off a record rout of South Korea in which the team broke the World Cup record for points with 145. While the Americans didn’t match that number, they put the game out of reach in the first 10 minutes, going up 33-15.
The lead ballooned to 63-31 at halftime. Bosnia and Herzegovina put together a small run to start the third quarter, but the U.S. scored the final 19 points of the period.
Once again they used a dominant inside performance, outscoring Bosnia and Herzegovina 84-28 in the paint led by Wilson, Stewart and Brionna Jones.
“It’s a huge part of our identity,” Reeve said. “Ninety-whatever we had yesterday and 84 today, we just know what we’re good at and we have players that are really understanding their opportunities for that.”
The U.S. was missing Jewell Loyd, whom the team said was resting. Kahleah Copper started in her place and finished with 11 points.
Nikolina Elez scored 19 points to lead the Bosniaks (0-5), who were playing in their first World Cup.
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The U.S. goes for its fourth consecutive title at the FIBA World Cup in Sydney — and eighth global gold in a row overall when including the Olympics.
A’ja Wilson, a two-time WNBA MVP, and Breanna Stewart, the Tokyo Olympic MVP, headline a U.S. roster that, for the first time since 2000, includes neither Sue Bird (retired) nor Diana Taurasi (injured).
The new-look team includes nobody over the age of 30 for the first time since 1994, before the U.S. began its dynasty at the 1996 Atlanta Games. The Americans have won 52 consecutive games between worlds and the Olympics dating to the 2006 Worlds bronze-medal game.
The field also includes host Australia, the U.S.’ former primary rival, and Olympic silver medalist Japan.
Nigeria, which played the U.S. the closest of any foe in Tokyo (losing by nine points), isn’t present after its federation withdrew the team over governance issues. Spain, ranked second in the world, failed to qualify.
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Follow @nbcolympictalk2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Round |
| Wed., Sept. 21 | 8:30 p.m. | Puerto Rico 82, Bosnia and Herzegovina 58 | Group A |
| 9:30 p.m. | USA 87, Belgium 72 | Group A | |
| 11 p.m. | Canada 67, Serbia 60 | Group B | |
| Thurs., Sept. 22 | 12 a.m. | Japan 89, Mali 56 | Group B |
| 3:30 a.m. | China 107, South Korea 44 | Group A | |
| 6:30 a.m. | France 70, Australia 57 | Group B | |
| 8:30 p.m. | USA 106, Puerto Rico 42 | Group A | |
| 10 p.m. | Serbia 69, Japan 64 | Group B | |
| 11 p.m. | Belgium 84, South Korea 61 | Group A | |
| Fri., Sept. 23 | 12:30 a.m. | China 98, Bosnia and Herzegovina 51 | Group A |
| 4 a.m. | Canada 59, France 45 | Group B | |
| 6:30 a.m. | Australia 118, Mali 58 | Group B | |
| Sat., Sept. 24 | 12:30 a.m. | USA 77, China 63 | Group A |
| 4 a.m. | South Korea 99, Bosnia and Herzegovina 66 | Group A | |
| 6:30 a.m. | Belgium 68, Puerto Rico 65 | Group A | |
| Sun., Sept. 25 | 12:30 a.m. | France 74, Mali 59 | Group B |
| 4 a.m. | Australia 69, Serbia 54 | Group B | |
| 6:30 a.m. | Canada 70, Japan 56 | Group B | |
| 9:30 p.m. | Belgium 85, Bosnia and Herzegovina 55 | Group A | |
| 11:30 p.m. | Serbia 81, Mali 68 | Group B | |
| Mon., Sept. 26 | 12 a.m. | USA 145, South Korea 69 | Group A |
| 2 a.m. | France 67, Japan 53 | Group B | |
| 3:30 a.m. | China 95, Puerto Rico 60 | Group A | |
| 6:30 a.m. | Australia 75, Canada 72 | Group B | |
| 9:30 p.m. | Puerto Rico 92, South Korea 73 | Group A | |
| 11:30 p.m. | China 81, Belgium 55 | Group A | |
| Tues., Sept. 27 | 12 a.m. | USA 121, Bosnia and Herzegovina 59 | Group A |
| 2 a.m. | Canada 88, Mali 65 | Group B | |
| 3:30 a.m. | Serbia 68, France 62 | Group B | |
| 6:30 a.m. | Australia 71, Japan 54 | Group B | |
| Wed., Sept. 28 | 10 p.m. | USA vs. Serbia | |
| Thurs., Sept. 29 | 12:30 a.m. | Canada vs. Puerto Rico | |
| 4 a.m. | China vs. France | ||
| 6:30 a.m. | Australia vs. Belgium | ||
| Fri., Sept. 30 | 3 a.m. | Semifinal | |
| 5:30 a.m. | Semifinal | ||
| 11 p.m. | Third-Place Game | ||
| Sat., Oct. 1 | 2 a.m. | Final |
