The Opals had high hopes heading to Tokyo but one win from four games turned their Olympic dream into a nightmare.
A loss to Games debutant Belgium in the opening round followed by a cruel defeat to China left them needing a miracle win by 25 points over Puerto Rico in their final group game to stand a chance of reaching the knockout stage.
That miracle may have eventuated but there was no such repeat in the quarter-finals when Team USA hammered Australia 79-55, keeping our women’s basketball team to its lowest ever score since the Sydney Olympics 21 years ago.
The Aussies were dominated from the first quarter, coughing up possession and a 16-point deficit they were never able to recover from as the world’s best side chalked up another easy win to enhance its gold medal favouritism.
Ranked No. 2 in the world behind America, Australia was aiming for the gold medal match but fell…
