The U.S. women’s water polo team rallied from a three-point deficit to trounce the Russian Olympic Committee in a 15-11 victory.
With that win, Team USA moves to the gold-medal match and will face either Spain or Hungary, who face each other in the second semifinal at 6:50 a.m. ET.
The U.S., gold medalists in London 2012 and Rio 2016, were on the verge of crashing out before the final until a late push helped them over the line. With just over five minutes left, Aria Fischer put the U.S. ahead 12-11. From there, Alys Williams and Madeline Musselman ensured the win with 3 points between them.
The win was partly thanks to three points from captain Maggie Steffens. Steffens is the all-time leading Olympic scorer in the sport.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
The US fell to Hungary in the preliminary rounds 10-9, ending an unbeaten run of 12 Olympic games.