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USA Women's Basketball Continues To Dominate

by Lauren Barbato

Michael Phelps, who? American women are slaying at the 2016 Summer Olympics. For the sixth straight Olympics, the USA women's basketball team won gold, defeating Spain 101-72 in an exhilarating finale in Rio de Janeiro. The USA team came to the 2016 Rio Olympics as one of the strongest basketball squads among the international field, and the gold medal was pretty much theirs to lose. Saturday's win against Spain also marked the 49th straight win for the USA women's basketball team — just one of many feats the incredible squad accomplished at the 2016 games.

With Thursday's win against France, the USA team extended their Olympic winning streak to an astonishing 48 games. The U.S. women haven't just been winning these games by two or four points — they've been absolutely destroying their challengers. According to USA Today, just one of those 48 wins was decided by fewer than 10 points.

However, the margin of victory has been crushing at the Rio Olympics. The USA women's basketball team defeated France in the semifinals on Thursday by 19 points; Japan in the quarterfinals by more than 40 points; and Senegal in the first Group B game by a record-breaking 65 points. The U.S. women also became the first women's basketball teams to score 100 points in three games in a row.

MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

Basically, the 2016 USA women's basketball team is untouchable. The U.S. women proved that on Saturday, defeating their opponent by yet another impressive margin. The Spain women's basketball team will take silver, while Serbia beat France on Saturday, August 20 for the bronze medal.

Following Saturday's game, NBA stars such as LeBron James took to Twitter to congratulate the incredible U.S. women's basketball team. The U.S. Olympic Team also highlighted that Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Tamika Catchings have now won four Olympic gold medals for women's basketball.

The U.S. women are so dominant in basketball, it's doubtful if anyone in the international sports community will catch up. The United States has won the last two FIBA Women’s World Cup, and hold nine World Cup titles — the most world titles for any country. At the World Cup championship in 2014, the U.S. women's team also defeated Spain for the title. Spain has recently become one of the main rivals for the U.S. women, along with long-held rivals Russia and Australia.

But Taurasi, Bird, Catchings, Maya Moore, Brittney Griner and the rest of the USA team are just too unstoppable for the international community. Sorry, Spain, but really, no other country had a chance against these legendary American women.