Team USA holds off France for the women’s basketball gold in a game that was decided by inches

Paris (CNN) — Team USA’s women’s basketball team only just held off France to win the gold medal on Sunday, escaping with a 67-66 win that was just inches away from being sent into overtime.

The Americans had a three-point lead as the French brought the ball back down the floor with 3.8 seconds to go. France’s best player on the day, Gabby Williams, got the ball and charged down court.

As Williams approached the three-point line, she launched a running shot and hit it off the glass as the buzzer sounded. But incredibly, her foot was just on the line – making it only count as two.

Team USA takes home its eighth straight gold medal in Olympic women’s basketball.

“An incredible basketball game, absolutely, an incredible basketball game,” USA head coach Cheryl Reeve said after. “Two teams that left it all out there, France played with their identity, we couldn’t get to our identity because of what France were doing, so hats off to them. We are happy to be going home with gold.”

“The fact that this is eight straight golds, It’s insane, honestly. But each one is so, so different and so, so special and so hard,” said Breanna Stewart, one of Team USA’s key players on Sunday.

It was a heartbreaking way for the game to end for the home nation. The crowd at Bercy Arena had been raucous throughout the game, the last athletic contest being played as a part of these Summer Olympics. The French had helped bring an incredible atmosphere to all the competitions, but the basketball finals Saturday night and Sunday afternoon had been ramped up even further.

“I told them they can be proud of what they showed tonight,” French coach Jean Aimé Toupane said of his team. “Losing by one point is something really hard, but they can be proud of what they did.”

Tale of an unbelievable game

The game started off with the French flying out of the gates, taking it to the Americans with a stout defense that forced Team USA into tough shots that were finding only rim. Unfortunately for the French – and fortunately for the Americans – their shooting also suffered, making them unable to capitalize on Team USA’s slow start.

As the quarter came to an end, the USA opened up a six-point lead and looked like it was about to go on one of the scoring runs that had led it to win 60 straight games in the Olympics, a streak that dates back to the 1992 Games in Barcelona. The US had not been in a competitive game in this tournament, having decimated its opponents on the way to the gold medal game.

The combination of that tough French defense and sloppy play kept the team from an easy win on Sunday. With less than three minutes to go in the first half, Marine Fauthoux hit a deep three from the court’s logo to bring the French level, bringing a roar from the crowd. The USA was plagued by turnovers, committing 13 in the first half alone, and simply looked out of sorts.

With a minute to go in the half, the French took their first lead of the game to the delight of the home crowd. But the stars on Team USA fought back to level the game heading into halftime.

Team USA star A’ja Wilson said the message at halftime was simple.

“Keep the main thing the main thing – which is getting that gold, whatever it takes, doing the little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet,” she said.

But it didn’t start out that way for the USA. The third quarter saw France throw its best punch at the Americans. Coming out of the locker room on fire, France opened up a 10-point lead on the US. French President Emmanuel Macron had ditched his jacket and was standing and cheering along the with the rest of the Parisians in attendance as it suddenly seemed like this unlikely upset could really happen.

“We were the two best defensive teams in the tournament and we both showed that, and as I said, it was ugly. It was ugly for a reason, we both made it hard for each other,” Reeve said. “And we had to go through some real gut check moments. And we got down 10 in that third quarter and you know we had to get players off the bench and it can help and that happened for us and helped us find our footing and just found a way to get it across the finish line.”

When Team USA wanted to get going, it could. Two of its biggest superstars, Kelsey Plum and Wilson, teammates on the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA, were that spark in the third quarter. On a quick series of possessions, Plum drained a three, found Wilson for a fast break lay-up and then hit a second three to chop the French lead down.

Team USA’s sloppiness kept the Americans from a bigger lead, ending the third quarter only two points up. Eventually the group of WNBA superstars pushed the advantage more in the fourth quarter and never gave it all the way up again.

The French simply refused to go away throughout the final frame, however. Led by Williams, France used its swarming defense and some timely shots to stay right with the Americans the whole way down the stretch.

In the end, Team USA’s stars shined brightly when they had to. Wilson got the ultimate shooter’s roll when she put the US up by three with three minutes to go, her shot bouncing off the rim to the top of the backboard and then falling through the net. She pumped her fist and screamed as she bounded back down the floor.

“The biggest thing that you learn in the international game, particularly with (USA Basketball), is no one really cares about anything when it comes to us,” Wilson said. “So you must work harder, face the contact, and I mean that to the highest degree. And yeah, that was just kind of the flow of the game, and once I think we got it kind of rockin’ and rollin’ on defensive end, we kind of got more energy.”

But still, the French refused to quit: Williams hit two free throws to bring them back within two with two-and-a-half minutes to play. Plum matched those seconds later as France started to foul to stop the clock.

With 90 seconds to go, Williams made it a one-point game again with a jumper. Kahleah Copper answered and Williams missed a three-pointer on the other end of the floor with less than a minute to go.

Buzzer-beater that just wasn’t enough

It seemed poised for the Americans to put the French away, but Wilson traveled and handed the ball back to the home team. France tried to go for the tie with 20 seconds to go but Fauthoux’s three was blocked by Stewart on a stunning defensive play. Fauthoux slapped the padding on the basket in frustration.

Still, the US couldn’t put France away. Wilson was fouled after getting the rebound and missed one of her two free throws after being fouled, making the game 63-59 with 17 seconds left. A pair of Marine Johannes free throws on the following possession would again bring the French within two.

With 11 seconds to go, Plum looked like she’d done enough to give the USA the gold medal by making two more clutch free throws to restore a four-point lead for the US, 65-61. But then Williams broke down the floor and drained a three to make it 65-64 with 11 seconds to play

When France fouled, Cooper made another two clutch free throws, setting the stage for Williams again. France broke down the court and Williams received a bullet pass from Johannes at the top of the key. She fired her shot almost as soon as she got it, but her forward momentum was too intense and carried her too far.

With her foot on the three-point line, Williams launched her shot and banked it home. The French fans celebrated – but then the Team USA bench began to jump and hug. The French players looked stunned as they realized it was two-pointer and not a triple.

“Man, I wish I could put it into words. I don’t think I’ll remember that second half for the next couple of weeks. It’s all a blur right now,” Wilson said. “We were just resilient in what we needed to do to go bucket for bucket. That is great basketball. That is what people want to see.”

A gold medal, decided by mere inches on the final play of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. A truly unreal way for a memorable two weeks to end.

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This story has been updated with additional information.