United States

Basketball: US Women Turn on Afterburners to Beat Japan 110-64

The U.S. has won 47 straight games in Olympic play and moves to 63-3 all-time

The U.S women's basketball team came into their first knockout round on a string of blowout victories, and seemed to face a much stiffer test in the first half against Japan in Rio Tuesday.

But led by Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore, the American women closed out the match to win 110-64, limiting Japan to just 18 points in the second half. The U.S. faces France in the semifinals on Thursday.

Japan kept it close in the first two quarters, staying within two points for much of the second until Seimone Augustus, of the Minnesota Lynx, led an American charge in the final minutes. The U.S. went into halftime up 56-46.

It was a much different story in the second half, and especially the fourth quarter, when the U.S. netted 29 points to Japan's 5.

The Americans went into the match having closed out pool play by trouncing China 105-62. Japan was seeded fourth.

With its victory on Tuesday, the U.S. has won 47 straight games in Olympic play and moves to 63-3 all-time. The Americans' last loss was in 1992. The U.S. has score more than 100 points in four of its five games.

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