Olympics recap: Team USA baseball, basketball, USWNT win on Day 7 of Tokyo Games
Team USA didn't let off the gas during Day 7 at the Tokyo Olympics, as the medals continue to pile up.
The U.S. had 38 medals coming into Friday and finished with 41 (14 gold, 16 silver, 11 bronze), just ahead of China (40, 19-10-11) and the Russian Olympic Committee (34, 10-14-10) in terms of total medals.
The Americans lead all countries on that front, and trail only China (19) and Japan (17) in gold medals.
Here are some of the highlights from Day 7.
Team USA, Women's Basketball
On Friday morning ET, The U.S. women's basketball team defeated Japan 86-69 in preliminary play at Saitama Super Arena in the team's 51st straight win dating back to the bronze medal game in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
The host nation led the U.S. 30-28 after one quarter, but Team USA led 49-40 at the break after going on a 13-4 run to close the half. Japan cut its deficit to five points in the third quarter before the U.S. found a rhythm in the final frame to seal the deal.
A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) scored 20 points on her way to another double-double and Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm) added 15 to lead the U.S.
WNBA star and five-time Olympian Sue Bird, who struggled in the U.S.’s first two games, didn’t shy away from the fact that the game against the host nation was a challenge.
"We've been telling you guys for years that we're making it look easy," she said. "Now what you're seeing is, we told you so, it's hard. That's not to say we're not headed in the right direction."
Team USA (2-0) plays France on Monday to finish group play as it continues its quest for a seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal.
For an up-to-date tracker of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics medal count, click here to see how every country is doing!
Team USA, Baseball
The mosaic that is the U.S. baseball team defeated Israel 8-1 in their debut game at the Tokyo Games.
The team got off to an early lead thanks in part to a 2-run homer by former New York Yankee Tyler Austin in the third inning. Short-track speed skater turned shortstop turned flag bearer Eddy Alvarez (Miami Marlins) drove in another run in the seventh inning and went on to score after a double from Austin, bringing the score to 6-1.
Team USA's win marks its fourth Olympic appearance and baseball’s first on the Olympic program in eight years. (Baseball was not an Olympic event in the 2012 or 2016 Games.)
Their next game is Saturday against defending gold medalists South Korea.
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Team USA, Women's Soccer
The U.S. women’s soccer team defeated the Netherlands in the quarterfinals in a nail-biter penalty kick shootout win on Friday.
U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was the star of the show, stopping a potential game-winning penalty kick with 10 minutes to go in regulation and another two Dutch penalty attempts during the shootout.
The Netherlands came out strong as Vivianne Miedema scored on her second touch of the game, putting the Dutch up 1-0 in just the 18th minute of regulation. The U.S. didn’t let this faze them, answering with back-to-back goals in the 28th and 31st minute from Samantha Mewis and Lynn Williams to give the USWNT a 2-1 lead heading into the break.
At the start of the second period, Miedema punched in her second goal for the Netherlands on a shot through the legs of Julie Ertz and past Naeher. In the 63rd minute, Christen Press scored on a cross by Lindsey Horan as the Dutch made a substitution, but it was ruled offside. At the end of regulation, things were knotted up 2-2.
The U.S. scored in the second extra-time period, but once again, it was another offside goal by the USA, this time from Alex Morgan. The game ended up being decided by penalty kicks, when Rose Lavelle, Morgan, Press and Megan Rapinoe all connected with the net to send the U.S. into the semifinals against Canada on Monday at 4 a.m. ET for a spot in the gold medal match.
Lilly King and Annie Lazor, Swimming
American swimmers King and Lazor took two spots on the podium Friday after besting five other competitors in the women’s 200m breaststroke final. King brought home silver with a time of 2:19.92 and Lazor (2:20.84) took the bronze. South Africa's Tatjana Schoenmaker took home the gold with a world record with a time of 2:18.95, but it was all love as the women embraced after the race.
This is King’s second silver medal of these Games after taking bronze in the 100m breaststroke earlier this week. Lazor’s performance was especially emotional as her father passed away suddenly prior to the Olympic Trials in June. King was a driving force in getting Lazor to the Olympics, and now, they stand on the podium together.
Maggie Steffens, Women's Water Polo
Team USA captain Steffens led the U.S. to a a 18-5 victory against ROC in the Pool B prelims.
Steffens, a two-time gold medalist playing in her third Games, made history with her 48th career goal in Friday’s match. The 28-year-old now owns the all-time Olympic scoring record in women’s water polo history, surpassing Italy's Tania Di Mario.
She went on to score four goals in Friday’s win alongside Stephania Harabaldis (4) and Paige Hauschild (3), while USA goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson played a top-notch defensive game with 16 saves.
Team USA maintains the lead in Pool B, followed by Hungary and ROC in third. The women’s Quarterfinals are set to begin on August 3.
Check back for more updates from all of Team USA's medal-winning action from Day 8!
