After losing to the WNBA All-Stars on Saturday, the USA Basketball Women’s National team departed for London to face the German National Team for a tune-up exhibition game on Tuesday. What was immediately evident was a much better defense. There is still work to do, but it was clear that the US team had taken steps to tighten up and to gel as a team.
This game was Germany’s first foray with their women’s team in the Olympics, and from this first showing, there were enough positives, even in a loss, to think that between now and their first game in group play, they might do better than expected. Even though Germany trailed 22-9 at the end of the first quarter, they showed a lot more strength in the second and cut the lead to 8.
The USA National Team Cruised in the Second Half
After halftime, however, the USA put the pedal down some, and Germany had a difficult time keeping up. The fourth quarter was the kind of performance coach Cheryl Reeve would probably like to see for all four quarters, and Germany just could not make a dent.
A’ja Wilson led the way for the US with 19 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Breanna Stewart, who scored 15 points, and Jewell Loyd, who scored 11 off the bench.
An A1 performance.
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 23, 2024
19 pts, 14 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl
🇺🇸 #USABWNT x @_ajawilson22 pic.twitter.com/0JjLKqts8p
The U.S. bench accounted for 37 of their 84 points. We all know that this roster is loaded with heavy hitters, and it is fair to say that between now and their first Group game against Japan on July 29th, the US will have had enough time to acclimatize and show even more effectiveness on both offense and defense.
German National Team Held Its Own
Germany was led by Luisa Geiselsöder who scored 15 points and Leonie Fiebich who scored 12. Fiebich has made an impact with the New York Liberty and did not disappoint against the US team. Geiselsöder, who was drafted but the Dallas Wings in 2020 but never played in the WNBA, gave a strong performance, and could easily be considered again for a slot in the W.
The German starters played the majority of minutes, as their bench only scored a total of 4 points. If Germany has any hope of advancing, head coach Lisa Thomaidis is going to have to address this before their first group game. Both the USA and Germany are in Group C, which also features Japan and the always-difficult Belgium.
All four teams have players that will be familiar to WNBA fans, such as Emma Meesseman, Julie Vanloo, Julie Allemand for Belgium, and Rui Machida for Japan. Of course, the Sabally sisters, Nyara and Satou, play for Germany, as well as Marie Gülich, who spent some time in the WNBA.
Final Thoughts
As far as what the USA team needs to accomplish, it is one thing to have the familiarity of playing against each other, but something else entirely to play with each other. Timing, court awareness, and everything they need have to be compressed into a few short days before group play. Given the caliber of talent, this should not be an obstacle.
The US team kicks off group play against Japan on July 29, and Germany meets Belgium on the same day. It will be a test for both teams. In fact, this year’s collection of teams can almost guarantee that there won’t be many if any, easy wins. The US and Germany meet again on August 4, so it will be interesting to see what has changed by then.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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