The United States entered the final day of competition at the Tokyo Olympics with 108 medals.
Team USA was certain to add to the haul in women's basketball and volleyball. The only question was what color the players would be wearing around their necks.
Team USA Women's Basketball Secures 7th Straight Gold Medal, Defeating Japan
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The U.S. women’s basketball team won its seventh straight gold medal on Saturday night, matching a record set by the U.S. men between 1936 and 1968. The final score over Japan was 90-75.
Brittney Griner took over the game much the way Kevin Durant did for the U.S. men on Friday night. She had 30 points on 14-of-18 shooting. A’ja Wilson, winning a gold medal on her 25th birthday, added 19 points, while Breanna Stewart had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Even on a team with many Olympic veterans, six of the players were not alive the last time the U.S. didn’t win gold, when they took home bronze from Barcelona in 1992. Meanwhile, Team USA’s most experienced players, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, made history by becoming the first Olympic basketball players – male or female – to win five gold medals.
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“It’s 20 years of sacrifice, putting everything aside and just wanting to win,” said Taurasi after the game. “This group found a way to win.”
“It’s not just about us,” Bird said, referencing all of the players who contributed to the U.S. streak.
Team USA Wins Gold Medal in Volleyball After Defeating Brazil
On the final day of the Tokyo Olympics, the United States' women's volleyball team seized the moment to make history.
The Americans swept past Brazil to clinch the nation's first-ever gold in women's volleyball. It's the fourth total medal for the U.S. in the sport after winning silvers in 1984, 2008 and 2012.
The U.S. women knocked off Serbia to advance to the finals, while Brazil beat South Korea to advance. The Brazilians are looking to top the podium once again after an early quarterfinal exit in 2016. They won gold in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
This is the third time in the past four Olympics that the U.S. and Brazil will meet for the title. The U.S. women easily dispatched Serbia, who eliminated them in the 2016 Olympic semifinals. They will get yet another chance at revenge on the court on Sunday against Brazil.
Players with Southern California ties include Kim Hill (Pepperdine), Kelsey Robinson (Manhattan Beach) and Justine Wong-Orantes (Cypress).
Keyshawn Davis, Richard Torrez Jr. Win Silver Medals in Boxing
No American man has won Olympic gold in boxing since Andre Ward in 2004.
American Keyshawn Davis fell to Cuban boxer Andy Cruz 4-1, taking home a silver medal.
On the last day of the Tokyo Olympics, Team USA had two fighters attempt to end the drought. Keyshawn Davis, fighting in the lightweight division, compete for gold after defeating Armenian Hovhannes Bachkov in the semifinals.
Davis is a professional fighter with a 3-0 boxing record. He also won the silver medal in the 2019 World Championships and the 2019 Pan American Games. Davis will have to defeat Cuban Andy Cruz, the 2019 world champion, if he hopes to claim Olympic gold.
Team USA super heavyweight boxer Richard Torrez Jr lost to Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan at the Tokyo Olympics, taking home a silver medal.
Torrez, fighting in the super heavyweight division, earned his shot at gold by defeating Kazakhstan’s Kamshybek Kunkabayev in the semifinals.
Tokyo Olympics conclude with 2021 Closing Ceremony
All things must end and the Tokyo Olympics is no different. The two-week global competition, which was played under unprecedented circumstances and limitations due the COVID-19 pandemic, will come to its natural conclusion on Sunday evening in Japan.
The Tokyo Olympics saw American swimmers Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel dominate in the water, as well as gymnasts Suni Lee and Mykayla Skinner step up to the mat for Simone Biles. And that was just the first week.
During the second week in Tokyo, the United States was equally busy -- collecting gold medals in men’s basketball, water polo, golf and the women’s 800m race. As of Saturday morning, Team USA was over the 100-medal threshold for Tokyo -- the most medals of any nation competing at this year’s Summer Games -- and sat just four gold medals behind China.
Watch the Tokyo Olympics Closing Ceremony at 4 a.m. PT Peacock or stream live here.