USA leads the French team, 37-25 at half time in their fight to obtain their 5th consecutive Olympic gold medal in Women's basketball.
By the end of the 2nd quarter, Parker had 15 pts for USA, Taurasi had 4 and Charles 5. France on the other hand had Gruda score 8 points, Lawson-Wade 7 and Dumerc 4.
All throughout the first half of the match, the French team fought hard against a USA squad that attempted to widen the lead. They were pretty successful at it up until only three minutes remained to the 2nd quarter. By then, USA led by eleven points and the French had a hard time getting catching up.
USA was seen dominating the boards both offensively and defensively grabbing 27 rebounds in total compared to France's 18 and was superior also in perimeter shooting - 33 percent vs. France's 17 percent.
Tipoff began at 4:00 p.m. EDT / 9:00 p.m. London Time and will proceed up at least until 6:00 p.m. EDT.
The American team is eyeing not only its fifth gold, but also its 41st straight Olympic victory. France on the other hand will make Olympic history even if it loses since it has never won an Olympic medal in the sport.
Point guard Celina Dumerc is France's star player and the tournament's highest scorer with 106 before the final match. Still, France scored fewer points than the U.S. throughout the tournament scoring 508 points compared to USA's 639.
Before the game, France's coach was well aware of the opponent it was facing that he told The Guardian, "The United States built the game. They cannot be beaten, they're invincible."