Olympics: American Women Cruise To 5th Straight Gold In Basketball

For the fifth consecutive Olympics and seventh time in eight tries, the American women are gold medalists.

Candace Parker led the charge with 21 points, and Team USA used a stifling defensive strategy to run France off the court with a dominant 86-50 performance.

With male stars like Kobe Bryant looking on, the women put on a performance the men will hope to duplicate on Sunday against Spain. They held France to 30 percent shooting, only 2-of-11 from three-point range and no more than 15 points in any quarter.

Conversely, the United States' worst quarter was 17 points in the second, two more than France's most productive period of play.

All 12 players on Team USA had at least three points, though only Parker and Sue Bird were in double figures. Bird ended with 11 for the Americans, who won every game of this tournament by double digits.

Sandrine Gruda and Edwige Lawson-Wade led France with 12 points apiece, and the French captured the silver medal in their best women's basketball performance to date.