Australia lost 85-64 to defending champions USA in the semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics basketball tournament at the Bercy Arena in the early hours on Saturday.

With this victory, the USA entered the women’s basketball final for the 11th time in 12 editions at the Summer Games. The Opals, meanwhile, will be heading to the bronze medal match for the fourth time.

Breanna Stewart starred with 16 points and five assists for world No. 1 USA while Jackie Young scored 14 points and five assists.

For the Opals, third in basketball rankings, Isobel Borlase top-scored with 11 points, while Tess Madgen and Marianna Tolo scored 10 points each.

“We knew the USA were going to be tough, we’re not naive about it,” Cayla George said. “And we felt we could match it with them and tonight we probably didn’t play the Opals brand that we really wanted to come out and play.

“But USA, they’re an incredible team, they’re the best in the world for a reason.

“It took us a second to settle and I think in that moment to settle, we weren’t able to stick close with them and then the lead just kept going.

“We allowed them to get out and run, do what they really like to and do what they’re good at. We didn’t really get them bogged down in an offence as much as we would have liked,” George summed up.

The opening quarter of the game saw both teams attack with intent and score crucial points. The defending champions took a 20-16 lead, but the Opals were within touching distance.

However, Jackie Young and Breanna Stewart spearheaded the USA’s charge in the next two quarters, where the Opals struggled to match up. The USA went into half-time with an 18-point lead and continued to dominate after the break.

A’ja Wilson too got into double digits in the third quarter as the lead started stretching further in favour of Cheryl Reeve’s team.

Heading into the final quarter with a huge 26-point lead, the USA let their guards down a bit allowing the Opals to score the opening eight points. Isobel Borlase and Marianna Tolo tried to kick-start a comeback, but they were too far behind.

Sabrina Inoescu and Kahleah Copper ensured the USA finished well in the final few minutes. Despite losing the quarter 19-24, the USA picked up a comfortable victory to sail into the gold medal match.

The Opals will play the bronze medal match at the Paris 2024 Olympics basketball tournament on August 11.