.Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior Citizen WriterAug 7, 2024, 05:28 PM ETCloseESPN.com NBA author given that 2010.Dealt With Cleveland Cavs for seven years.Author of pair of booksPARIS-- The mixture of A'ja Wilson as well as Breanna Stewart has actually proven to become a devasting mix for the Crew United States ladies, to the point where there is actually an instance cultivating that they could share the Olympics Many Valuable Player Award.But there is actually a brand-new duo surfacing, though certainly not a surprising one, that is actually confirmed to be a major improvement as the Americans work toward another gold medal.Las Vegas Aces teammates Kelsey Plum as well as Jackie Young have improved to become difference-makers in France and participated in key roles in Group USA's 88-74 success over Nigeria in the quarterfinals.It marked the team's 59th consecutive Olympic triumph and also puts together a semifinal matchup against Australia, champions over Serbia Wednesday, on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.Jackie Young finished with double-digit points for the second upright activity, firing 60% from the industry in the USA' get Nigeria. CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockCoach Cheryl Reeve relocated Young in to the starting sequence instead of veteran Diana Taurasi versus Nigeria, a group known for playing higher pressure full-court protection that challenges opposing guards.It was actually a perks after Youthful scored 19 factors along with 4 swipes off the seat in the ultimate pool play game versus Germany. She reacted along with another excellent performance, enjoying with power at both points alongside yet another Aces teammate, Chelsea Gray, in the backcourt.Young scored 15 aspects and also aided hold the USA offense early in the activity as the Americans got off to a little bit of a sluggish begin by their standards.Nigeria was behind through simply 4 points midway with the 2nd one-fourth. That is actually when Reeve mosted likely to Plum, who was actually the 12th as well as last player to get in the game for the Americans. Plum right away altered the video game along with her passing as well as rate on the annoying point, serving up 3 simple aids and also nailing a 3-pointer. Plum finished with merely 6 aspects yet her six-minute change to finish the very first one-half resulted in a plus-11 on the scoreboard to push the result in 19 at fifty percent. The U.S. then began the 2nd half on a 15-0 operate and the tension was actually done for the evening.Editor's Picks1 RelatedWilson as well as Stewart, who entered into the video game averaging a matching 20.3 points per activity, played their company of competent oppressor ball. Wilson invested twenty factors on 9-of-11 shooting with 11 rebounds as well as pair of blocks. Stewart possessed 13 aspects on 5-of-7 firing along with five rebounds and 3 assists.Brittney Griner went over the bench to rating 11 points on 4-of-5 capturing. Those three interior scorers incorporating for 16-of-21 is actually tough to beat.The united state got into the video game averaging 29 supports as well as once again placed on a ball-sharing clinic by constructing 31 more.Promise Amukamara led Nigeria, which reduced the lead to as low as thirteen in the 4th quarter, along with 19 scores. The activity finished with a little upper hand when the U.S.'s Kahleah Copper received a specialized nasty for throwing the ball at Nigeria's Ezinne Kalu after she racked up in the ultimate secs.