U.S. wins gold in female basketball to beat China in medals race

The U.S. women’s basketball team beat Japan to earn its seventh consecutive gold medal.

In what was a continuation of dominance, the U.S. women beat Japan, 90-75, on Sunday afternoon at Saitama Super Arena to claim its seventh consecutive gold medal.

The team has now won 55 consecutive games at the Olympics. The last time it lost a game in this tournament was in 1992.

Japan, undersized and overmatched, relied on its outside shooting to keep the score close in the early part of the game. But the Americans were too clinical around the basket, too tough on defense. Japan will settle for a silver medal, its best finish in Olympic basketball.

The gold medal meant that Team USA got 113 total medals to beat China to second place in the medal table.

China finished second with 88, the Russian Olympic Committee finished third with 71, Britain finished fourth with 65 and Japan, the host nation, finished fifth with 58.

Meanwhile, Nigeria finished 74th with one silver medal and one bronze medal, behind other African countries such as Kenya, South Africa, among others.