The opening moments of the USA’s first contest in Group play had some wondering if the real Team USA would take the court.
The old adage is that it is not how one starts, it is how one finishes. When the game was complete, it was an 87-67 victory for Team USA over Senegal.
Senegal jumped out to a 10-2 lead early before the USABWNT embarked on a 16-7 run to close the first quarter and assumed an 18-17 advantage after the first frame.
The second quarter looked more indicative of the Team USA we have come accustomed to in international competition, outscoring Senegal 27-14 and taking a 45-31 lead going into halftime.
Knee injury? What knee injury? Elena Delle Donne finished with 19 points and six rebounds. Nneka Ogwumike had 16, A’ja Wilson scored 15 points and Breanna Stewart tallied 14.
For Senegal, Astou Traore scored 13, but their leading scorer was Oumoul Khairy Sarr who finished with 18 and shot seven out of 13 from the field.
