2024 FIBA Women's Basketball Olympic Qualifier Tournaments: U.S. ends tournament 3-0 with big win over Senegal
Rhyne Howard and Napheesa Collier led the way as the U.S. gain momentum going into Paris
Basketball
In the final game of the 2024 FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp, Belgium, the United States won 101-39 over Senegal. This win on Sunday (11 Feb) at the Sportpaleis made the Americans’ record 3-0 on the tournament.
The United States secured their quota for the Olympic Games when they won the 2022 FIBA World Cup, so this tournament was as much about building chemistry among players who usually are facing each other in the WNBA as it was about winning.
“It's always great to be overseas and playing with this team. The growth that I feel like we had as a team was really great, too. We spent a lot of time together. So building that chemistry really quickly and making those adjustments in such a short amount of time, I'm proud of the effort that we had,” said Napheesa Collier.
*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024. *
Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.
Every single member of Team USA scored in the game. Rhyne Howard led with 25 points and five rebounds. Collier scored 22 and had four steals. Both Howard and Collier were named to the all-tournament team.
At 23, Howard is one of the youngest members of the team, and she’s had limited experience at the international level. Still, she looked comfortable on the court.
“Obviously Rhyne was really impactful in her 15 minutes with 25 points. That's just nuts. Really happy for her. Players are learning that this could be their situation. If they're on the team, you know that you may not see steady, consistent minutes. You got to be ready at the drop of a hat if you go in, and Rhyne did that for us. That was fun to watch,” USA coach Cheryl Reeve said.
The U.S. are on an Olympic winning streak dating back to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and will head into Paris as the favorites.
Senegal aims to build on tournament appearance
Senegal went 0-3 in the tournament. In 2023, they went to the finals of the AfroBasket tournament, and lost to Nigeria there. Senegalese coach Alberto Antuna Leal only started working with his team a few days before the tournament. One of their goals going in was to grow and start building for the next set of tournaments, including AfroBasket and the World Cup, and playing the U.S. is a way for Senegal to learn how to get better.
“We need to take this as an example that this is the way the top. Maybe we need to copy some things, not how they play but, how they have been acting the whole way, their routines, how they adapt to a tournament coming from the USA, how they respect their opponent. That's a lesson for everyone,” Antuna Leal said after the game.
“Obviously it means that we are on the way, that we are competing in the big picture now. We don't go to the Olympics, but we need to fight to get our World Cup positioning in two years.”
Senegal had plenty of bright spots in the tournament. Yacine Diop was named to the all-tournament team. Cierra Dillard, raised in the U.S., joined the team last year. She said the losses will inspire the players to work harder.
“This is the Olympic level. Now we know what we need to do to get back here. To get back to the world qualifiers. We know the competition is higher up. And not saying that we don't belong here, but we need to put in more work to compete better,” Dillard said.