2016 Rio Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament August 7 Round-up

The United States jumpstarted its bid for a sixth consecutive gold medal with a record-setting victory over Senegal. Spain won its debut against Serbia, while Australia and France remain undefeated in Group A after separate wins.

Here is the August 7 round-up of the 2016 Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

UNITED STATES 121, SENEGAL 56

The United States opened its quest for a sixth straight gold medal in dominant fashion, walloping Senegal, 121-56.

USA's 121 points is an Olympic women's basketball record for most points in a single game, breaking the same team's previous of 114 (1992, 2012). It was also the highest winning margin for the USA women's squad in the Olympic stage.

Diana Taurasi opened her final run at the Olympic Games by hitting four triples in the first quarter alone, as Geno Auriemma's side took a humongous 35-9 lead.

Taurasi finished with 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Breanna Stewart and Sylvia Fowles also tallied 15 points apiece, while four more scored in double-digits. Brittney Griner had 14 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. Sue Bird dished out eight assists.

USA shot 64.8 percent overall from the field and 10-for-18 from three-point area. The team also assisted 36 of 46 field goal makes and no player logged more than 23 minutes.

Playmaker Fatou Dieng was the lone double-digit scorer for the AfroBasket champions with 10 points including 2-for-6 from long range. She also had four assists.

SPAIN 65, SERBIA 59

Spain overcame a slow start to edge Serbia and open its Olympic campaign on a good note.

Jelena Milovanovic and Danielle Page combined to score Serbia's fiest 13 points as the team went on a 13-4 start, but Spain was able to recover right away and take a 19-18 edge after the opening quarter.

Teams went back and forth until the final quarter when Marta Xargay opened the fourth period with a triple to extend Spain's lead up to 49-44.

Later, free throws by Ana Dabovic pulled Serbia within two, 57-55 but a triple by Anna Cruz followed by a lay-up from Laia Palau sealed the game as Spain took a 62-55 lead with just over a minute left.

Xargay topscored for Spain with 15 points including two triples and 7-for-8 from the foul line. Anna Cruz tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Astou Ndour also had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Milovanovic led the EuroBasket winners with 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Page added 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while Sonja Petrovic added 12 points and eight boards. Dabovic, though, struggled from the floor, missing all of her seven shots. She finished with just four points.

AUSTRALIA 61, TURKEY 56

Liz Cambage tallied another double-double while Leilani Mitchell continued to shoot well from the outside as Australia improved to 2-0 in the tournament.

Cambage finished with 22 points on 9-for-16 shooting and 11 rebounds while Mitchell added 11 points on 3-for-6 three-point shooting, three rebounds, and three assists. Katie Ebzery also scored 11 points.

The game was still tied at the start of the fourth quarter after Lara Sanders made a basket, 43-all abut Cambage went on to score the next six points for the Opals. A three-point play by Penny Taylor and a three by Mitchell made it 55-47.

The world no. 2 team was never threatened after that point, walking away with its second straight win.

Sanders bounced back from a sub-par first game in Turkey's loss to France, chipping in 25 points and seven boards. Nevriye Yilmaz had 14 points while Isil Alben added 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

FRANCE 73, BELARUS 72

Endy Miyem hit a basket at the buzzer to lift France over Belarus and stay undefeated in the Olympic Games.

Belarus led for almost the entire contest, only to fall in the end as the team was dealt a heartbreaking defeat.

Belarus led by as much as 10, 22-12 in the first quarter after triples from Tatsiana Likhtarovich, Maryia Papova, and Tatyana Troina.

But France did just enough to stay within striking distance, before a 12-2 run in the third quarter behind Miyem and Val Ayayi gave France a 46-45 lead.

In the fourth quarter, a triple by Likhtarovich gave Belarus a 70-68 lead, but a free throw by Isabelle Yacoubou and a basket by Olivia Epoupa made it 71-70 for France. Lindsey Harding answered with two free throws to give Belarus a 72-71 lead with just 11.7 seconds left.

Miyem then beat the buzzer in the next play, to cap a sensational comeback for France.

Epoupa had an all-around game of 16 points, four rebounds, and five assists. Yacoubou and Ayayi each had 13 points while Miyem finished with 10 points.

Likhtarovich scored 16 points including 3-for-6 from long range for Belarus, while Katsiaryna Snytsina added 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting.

Belarus shot better from three-point area at 8-for-17 compared to only 3-for-15 for France, but the latter had a 19-7 lead in second chance points.

TEAM STANDINGS AFTER AUGUST 7:

Group A

Australia 2-0
France 2-0
Japan 1-0
Brazil 0-1
Turkey 0-2
Belarus 0-2

Group B

United States 1-0
Spain 1-0
Canada 1-0
Serbia 0-1
China 0-1
Senegal 0-1

AUGUST 8 SCHEDULE:

Spain vs United States
Canada vs Serbia
Japan vs Brazil
Senegal vs China

All photos from FIBA.com