Basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

The 2020 Summer Olympics women's basketball tournament in Tokyo, began on 26 July and ended on 8 August 2021. All games were played at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.^[1]

Basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

Tournament details
Host country	Japan
City	Saitama
Dates	26 July – 8 August 2021
Teams	12
Venue(s)	Saitama Super Arena
Final positions
Champions	United States (9th title)
Runners-up	Japan
Third place	France
Fourth place	Serbia
Tournament statistics
Games played	26
Attendance	0 (0 per game)
MVP	Breanna Stewart
Top scorer	Emma Meesseman (27.3 points per game)
← Rio de Janeiro 2016 Paris 2024 →

It was originally scheduled to be held in 2020, but on 24 March 2020, the Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2] Because of this pandemic, the games were played behind closed doors.^[3]

The United States won the title for the ninth overall and seventh consecutive time by defeating Japan in the final, while France secured the bronze medal with a win over Serbia.^[4][5]

The medals for the competition were presented by Samira Asghari, IOC Member, Afghanistan, and the medalists' bouquets were presented by Andreas Zagklis, Secretary General of FIBA, Greece.

Format

The twelve teams were split into three groups of four teams. The teams placed first and second in each group and the two best third-placed teams qualified for the quarter-finals. The eight teams were divided in a group D (best 4 teams) and a group E (remaining 4 teams). The quarter-final pairings were drawn on 2 August after the end of the group phase. After that, a knockout system was used.^[6]

Competition schedule

G	Group stage	¼	Quarter-finals	½	Semi-finals	BM	Bronze medal game	GM	Gold medal game

Sun 25	Mon 26	Tue 27	Wed 28	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3	Wed 4	Thu 5	Fri 6	Sat 7	Sun 8
	G	G		G	G		G	G		1⁄4		1⁄2	BM	GM

Qualification

Means of qualification	Date	Venue	Berths	Qualified
Host nation	—	—	1	Japan
2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup	22–30 September 2018	Spain	1	United States
2020 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments	6–9 February 2020	Ostend	2	Belgium
				Canada
		Bourges	3	Australia
				France
				Puerto Rico
		Belgrade	2	Nigeria
				Serbia
			3	China
				South Korea
				Spain
Total			12

Squads

Main article: Basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's team rosters

Each NOC was limited to one team per tournament. Each team had a roster of twelve players, one of which could be a naturalized player.

Draw

The draw was held at the FIBA Headquarters in Mies, Switzerland on 2 February 2021:^[7][8]

The 12 teams were divided into four pots of three teams based on their FIBA Women's World Ranking. The three groups were formed by drawing one team from each pot. Two teams from the same continent could not be placed into the same group, with the exception of European teams, where up to two teams could be in the same group.

Due to scheduling requests from the International Olympic Committee, defending champions the United States and hosts Japan were drawn into either Group B or C.

Seeding

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
United States  Australia  Spain	Canada  France  Belgium	Serbia  China  Japan	Nigeria  South Korea  Puerto Rico

Referees

The following 30 referees were selected for the tournament.^[9]

• Juan Fernández
• Leandro Lezcano
• Scott Beker
• James Boyer
• Ademira Zurapović
• Guilherme Locatelli
• Andreia Silva
• Matthew Kallio
• Maripier Malo
• Michael Weiland
• Yu Jung
• Maj Forsberg
• Yohan Rosso
• Ahmed Al-Shuwaili
• Manuel Mazzoni
• Takaki Kato
• Yevgeniy Mikheyev
• Mārtiņš Kozlovskis
• Rabah Noujaim
• Samir Abaakil
• Kingsley Ojeaburu
• Gizella Györgyi
• Ferdinand Pascual
• Luis Vázquez
• Aleksandar Glišić
• Luis Castillo
• Antonio Conde
• Yener Yılmaz
• Amy Bonner
• Steven Anderson

Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+9).^[10][11]

In the preliminary round, teams receive 2 classification points for a win, 1 classification point for a loss, and 0 classification points for a forfeit.^[12]

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	3	3	0	234	205	+29	6	Quarterfinals
2	Serbia	3	2	1	207	214	−7	5
3	Canada	3	1	2	208	201	+7	4
4	South Korea	3	0	3	183	212	−29	3

Source: TOCOG and FIBA
Rules for classification: 1) classification points; 2) head-to-head results; 3) head-to-head game points difference; 4) head-to-head number of game points scored.

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 10:00 v

Boxscore

South Korea	69–73	Spain
Scoring by quarter: 15–16, 20–17, 18–21, 16–19
Pts: Kang 26 Rebs: Park Ji-s. 10 Asts: Park H. 5		Pts: Ndour 28 Rebs: Gil 14 Asts: Ouviña 8

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Ferdinand Pascual (PHI), Andreia Silva (BRA), Kingsley Ojeaburu (NGR)

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 17:20 v

Boxscore

Serbia	72–68	Canada
Scoring by quarter: 16–13, 20–15, 9–17, 27–23
Pts: Vasić 16 Rebs: Dabović 6 Asts: Crvendakić, Dabović 5		Pts: Fields 19 Rebs: Nurse 6 Asts: Achonwa 5

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Amy Bonner (USA), Leandro Lezcano (ARG), Maj Forsberg (DEN)

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29 July 2021 (2021-07-29) 10:00 v

Boxscore

Canada	74–53	South Korea
Scoring by quarter: 16–15, 17–13, 16–11, 25–14
Pts: Carleton 18 Rebs: Achonwa 10 Asts: Achonwa 5		Pts: Park Ji-s. 15 Rebs: Park Ji-s. 11 Asts: three players 3

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Amy Bonner (USA), James Boyer (AUS), Gizella Györgyi (NOR)

29 July 2021 (2021-07-29) 17:20 v

Boxscore

Spain	85–70	Serbia
Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 22–24, 18–14, 26–12
Pts: Ndour 20 Rebs: Ndour 9 Asts: Ouviña 8		Pts: Brooks 16 Rebs: Anderson 8 Asts: three players 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Maj Forsberg (DEN), Andreia Silva (BRA)

---

1 August 2021 (2021-08-01) 10:00 v

Boxscore

Canada	66–76	Spain
Scoring by quarter: 13–23, 21–17, 13–20, 19–16
Pts: Nurse 14 Rebs: four players 6 Asts: Carleton 4		Pts: Ndour 20 Rebs: Ndour 11 Asts: Ouviña 7

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Yu Jung (TPE), Leandro Lezcano (ARG), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ)

1 August 2021 (2021-08-01) 21:00 v

Boxscore

South Korea	61–65	Serbia
Scoring by quarter: 10–17, 14–15, 20–18, 17–15
Pts: Park Ji-h 17 Rebs: Park Ji-s. 11 Asts: Park Ji-h., Park Ji-s. 5		Pts: Crvendakić 15 Rebs: Vasić 10 Asts: three players 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Ferdinand Pascual (PHI), Amy Bonner (USA), Andreia Silva (BRA)

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	3	3	0	260	223	+37	6	Quarterfinals
2	Japan (H)	3	2	1	245	239	+6	5
3	France	3	1	2	239	229	+10	4
4	Nigeria	3	0	3	217	270	−53	3

Source: TOCOG and FIBA
Rules for classification: 1) classification points; 2) head-to-head results; 3) head-to-head game points difference; 4) head-to-head number of game points scored.
(H) Hosts

27 July 2021 (2021-07-27) 10:00 v

Boxscore

Japan	74–70	France
Scoring by quarter: 13–17, 21–19, 18–13, 22–21
Pts: Hayashi 12 Rebs: Akaho 9 Asts: Machida 11		Pts: Gruda 18 Rebs: Gruda 9 Asts: Johannès 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Maripier Malo (CAN), James Boyer (AUS), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ)

27 July 2021 (2021-07-27) 13:40 v

Boxscore

Nigeria	72–81	United States
Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 12–27, 18–26, 22–11
Pts: Kalu 16 Rebs: Kunaiyi-Akpannah 9 Asts: Amukamara 4		Pts: Wilson 19 Rebs: Wilson 13 Asts: Bird 13

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Yu Jung (TPE), Scott Beker (AUS), Gizella Györgyi (NOR)

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30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 13:40 v

Boxscore

United States	86–69	Japan
Scoring by quarter: 28–30, 21–10, 16–13, 21–16
Pts: Wilson 20 Rebs: Stewart 13 Asts: Bird, Stewart 6		Pts: Takada 15 Rebs: Akaho 8 Asts: Machida 11

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Yener Yılmaz (TUR), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ), Gizella Györgyi (NOR)

30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 17:20 v

Boxscore

France	87–62	Nigeria
Scoring by quarter: 18–12, 26–15, 23–15, 20–20
Pts: Gruda 14 Rebs: Gruda, Williams 9 Asts: Duchet 5		Pts: Amukamara 11 Rebs: three players 4 Asts: Amukamara, Kalu 3

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Scott Beker (AUS), Luis Castillo (ESP), Samir Abaakil (MAR)

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2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 10:00 v

Boxscore

Nigeria	83–102	Japan
Scoring by quarter: 22–30, 16–21, 19–33, 26–18
Pts: Macaulay 18 Rebs: Chidom, Elonu 7 Asts: Nyingifa 8		Pts: Hayashi 23 Rebs: Akaho 7 Asts: Machida 15

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Juan Fernández (ARG), Andreia Silva (BRA), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ)

2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 13:40 v

Boxscore

France	82–93	United States
Scoring by quarter: 22–19, 22–31, 23–21, 15–22
Pts: Miyem 15 Rebs: Gruda 6 Asts: Johannès 7		Pts: Wilson 22 Rebs: Stewart, Wilson 7 Asts: Loyd 8

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Manuel Mazzoni (ITA), Ferdinand Pascual (PHI), Rabah Noujaim (LIB)

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	China	3	3	0	247	191	+56	6	Quarterfinals
2	Belgium	3	2	1	234	196	+38	5
3	Australia	3	1	2	240	230	+10	4
4	Puerto Rico	3	0	3	176	280	−104	3

Source: TOCOG and FIBA
Rules for classification: 1) classification points; 2) head-to-head results; 3) head-to-head game points difference; 4) head-to-head number of game points scored.

27 July 2021 (2021-07-27) 17:20 v

Boxscore

Australia	70–85	Belgium
Scoring by quarter: 17–21, 24–16, 16–19, 13–29
Pts: Magbegor 20 Rebs: George 10 Asts: Mitchell 7		Pts: Meesseman 32 Rebs: Meesseman 9 Asts: Allemand 11

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Juan Fernández (ARG), Amy Bonner (USA), Yener Yılmaz (TUR)

27 July 2021 (2021-07-27) 21:00 v

Boxscore

Puerto Rico	55–97	China
Scoring by quarter: 17–32, 9–21, 13–18, 16–26
Pts: Rosado 14 Rebs: Quiñones 5 Asts: Gwathmey 4		Pts: Li Yue. 21 Rebs: Han 14 Asts: Huang 7

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Takaki Kato (JPN), Maj Forsberg (DEN), Samir Abaakil (MAR)

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30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 10:00 v

Boxscore

Belgium	87–52	Puerto Rico
Scoring by quarter: 23–16, 20–8, 17–13, 27–15
Pts: Meesseman 26 Rebs: Meesseman 15 Asts: Allemand 7		Pts: Gwathmey 20 Rebs: Gwathmey, Meléndez 5 Asts: Rosado 5

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Maripier Malo (CAN), Yu Jung (TPE), Kingsley Ojeaburu (NGA)

30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 21:00 v

Boxscore

China	76–74	Australia
Scoring by quarter: 27–19, 11–19, 17–9, 21–27
Pts: Wang 20 Rebs: Shao 8 Asts: Li M. 7		Pts: Magbegor 15 Rebs: George 5 Asts: Ebzery 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Matthew Kallio (CAN), Maj Forsberg (DEN), Ahmed Al-Shuwaili (IRQ)

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2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 17:20 v

Boxscore

China	74–62	Belgium
Scoring by quarter: 17–21, 21–16, 21–15, 15–10
Pts: Li Yue. 14 Rebs: Li Yue. 8 Asts: Wang 8		Pts: Meesseman 24 Rebs: Meesseman 7 Asts: Mestdagh 5

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Leandro Lezcano (ARG), Yener Yılmaz (TUR), Maj Forsberg (DEN)

2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 21:00 v

Boxscore

Australia	96–69	Puerto Rico
Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 23–20, 23–8, 28–17
Pts: Tolo 26 Rebs: Tolo 17 Asts: Mitchell 6		Pts: Gwathmey 26 Rebs: Gibson, Gwathmey 6 Asts: Meléndez, Rosado 3

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Alexander Glišić (SRB), Samir Abaakil (MAR), Gizella Györgyi (NOR)

Third-placed teams ranking

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	C	Australia	3	1	2	240	230	+10	4	Quarterfinals
2	B	France	3	1	2	239	229	+10	4
3	A	Canada	3	1	2	208	201	+7	4

Source: TOCOG and FIBA
Rules for classification: 1) classification points; 2) game points difference; 3) number of game points scored; 4) FIBA ranking.

Knockout stage

Ranking

A draw after the preliminary round decided the pairings, where a seeded team played an unseeded team. The draw was held after the last group stage match on 2 August.^[13] Teams qualified were divided into two pots:

• Pot D comprised the three first-placed teams from the group phase, along with the best second-placed team.
• Pot E comprised the two remaining second-placed teams, along with the two best third-placed teams.

Draw principles:

• Each game pairing had one team from Pot D and one team from Pot E.
• Teams from the same group could not be drawn against each other in the quarterfinals.
• The second-placed team from Pot D could not be drawn against the third-placed teams from Pot E.^[14]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	China	3	3	0	247	191	+56	6	Seeded
2	United States	3	3	0	260	223	+37	6
3	Spain	3	3	0	234	205	+29	6
4	Belgium	3	2	1	234	196	+38	5	Seeded
5	Japan	3	2	1	245	239	+6	5	Unseeded
6	Serbia	3	2	1	207	214	−7	5
7	Australia	3	1	2	240	230	+10	4	Unseeded
8	France	3	1	2	239	229	+10	4

Source: TOCOG
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) points difference; 3) points scored.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Gold medal
	4 August
	Australia	55
					6 August
	United States	79
					United States	79
	4 August
					Serbia	59
	China	70
									8 August
	Serbia	77
									United States	90
	4 August
									Japan	75
	Japan	86
					6 August
	Belgium	85
					Japan	87
	4 August
					France	71			Bronze medal
	Spain	64
									7 August
	France	67
									Serbia	76
									France	91

Quarterfinals

4 August 2021 (2021-08-04) 10:00 v

Boxscore

China	70–77	Serbia
Scoring by quarter: 14–16, 19–19, 25–14, 12–28
Pts: Shao 17 Rebs: Han 7 Asts: Li Yua. 6		Pts: Brooks 18 Rebs: Vasić 10 Asts: Dabović 6

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Luis Castillo (ESP), Maripier Malo (CAN), Rabah Noujaim (LIB)

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4 August 2021 (2021-08-04) 13:40 v

Boxscore

Australia	55–79	United States
Scoring by quarter: 12–26, 15–22, 12–20, 16–11
Pts: Mitchell 14 Rebs: Allen, George 7 Asts: Mitchell 6		Pts: Stewart 23 Rebs: Griner 8 Asts: Gray 8

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Ferdinand Pascual (PHI), Takaki Kato (JPN), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ)

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4 August 2021 (2021-08-04) 17:20 v

Boxscore

Japan	86–85	Belgium
Scoring by quarter: 19–16, 22–26, 20–26, 25–17
Pts: Miyazawa 21 Rebs: Akaho 7 Asts: Machida 14		Pts: Meesseman 25 Rebs: Meesseman 11 Asts: Allemand 8

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Yu Jung (TPE), Amy Bonner (USA), James Boyer (AUS)

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4 August 2021 (2021-08-04) 21:00 v

Boxscore

Spain	64–67	France
Scoring by quarter: 16–21, 14–15, 18–19, 16–12
Pts: Ndour 16 Rebs: Ndour 11 Asts: Gil 4		Pts: Johannès 18 Rebs: three players 5 Asts: Duchet 5

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Manuel Mazzoni (ITA), Andreia Silva (BRA), Scott Beker (AUS)

Semifinals

6 August 2021 (2021-08-06) 13:40 v

Boxscore

United States	79–59	Serbia
Scoring by quarter: 25–12, 16–11, 17–16, 21–20
Pts: Griner 15 Rebs: Griner 12 Asts: Bird, Taurasi 4		Pts: Anderson 15 Rebs: Dugalić 10 Asts: Vasić 3

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Yu Jung (TPE), Andreia Silva (BRA)

---

6 August 2021 (2021-08-06) 20:00 v

Boxscore

Japan	87–71	France
Scoring by quarter: 14–22, 27–12, 27–16, 19–21
Pts: Akaho 17 Rebs: Akaho, Miyazawa 7 Asts: Machida 18		Pts: Gruda 18 Rebs: Williams 8 Asts: Williams 7

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Maripier Malo (CAN), Luis Castillo (ESP), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ)

Bronze medal game

7 August 2021 (2021-08-07) 16:00 v

Boxscore

Serbia	76–91	France
Scoring by quarter: 23–19, 17–24, 16–24, 20–24
Pts: Anderson 24 Rebs: Vasić 8 Asts: Anderson, Brooks 5		Pts: Williams 17 Rebs: Williams 8 Asts: three players 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Juan Fernández (ARG), Amy Bonner (USA), Takaki Kato (JPN)

Gold medal game

8 August 2021 (2021-08-08) 11:30 v

Boxscore

United States	90–75	Japan
Scoring by quarter: 23–14, 27–25, 25–17, 15–19
Pts: Griner 30 Rebs: Stewart 14 Asts: Taurasi 8		Pts: Takada 17 Rebs: Okoye 8 Asts: Machida 6

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Referees: Manuel Mazzoni (ITA), Andreia Silva (BRA), Maripier Malo (CAN)

Final ranking

Rank	Team[15]	Record
	United States	6–0
	Japan	4–2
	France	3–3
4	Serbia	3–3
5	China	3–1
6	Spain	3–1
7	Belgium	2–2
8	Australia	1–3
9	Canada	1–2
10	South Korea	0–3
11	Nigeria	0–3
12	Puerto Rico	0–3

Statistics and awards

Statistical leaders

Players

Points[16] Name PPG Emma Meesseman 27.3 Astou Ndour 22.7 A'ja Wilson 20.0 Jazmon Gwathmey 18.0 Brittney Griner 17.3

Rebounds Name RPG Breanna Stewart 11.3 Park Ji-su 10.7 Emma Meesseman 10.3 Astou Ndour 10.0 Laura Gil 9.3 A'ja Wilson

Assists Name APG Rui Machida 10.8 Cristina Ouviña 7.7 Julie Allemand 7.3 Sue Bird 6.5 Breanna Stewart 5.5

Blocks Name BPG Park Ji-su 3.3 A'ja Wilson 2.8 Astou Ndour 2.3 Han Xu 2.0 Laura Gil 1.7

Steals Name SPG Emma Meesseman 3.7 Gabby Williams 3.5 Ezinne Kalu 2.3 Laura Gil Kyara Linskens 2.0 Natalie Achonwa Kia Nurse Promise Amukamara Allison Gibson

Efficiency Name EFFPG Emma Meesseman 36.7 Astou Ndour 29.3 A'ja Wilson 28.8 Breanna Stewart 23.8 Li Yueru 21.0 Brittney Griner

Teams

Points Team PPG[17]  United States 84.7  Japan 82.2  Belgium 79.8  China 79.3  France 78.0

Rebounds Team RPG  United States 45.5  China 43.0  Belgium 39.8  Australia 39.3  Canada 38.7

Assists Team APG  United States 26.0  Belgium 25.5  China 24.8  Australia 23.2  Japan 22.3

Blocks Team BPG  United States 5.5  Nigeria 4.0  South Korea  Spain 3.8  China 3.3

Steals Team SPG  Nigeria 9.3  Belgium  France 8.8  Canada 8.7  Puerto Rico

Efficiency Team EFFPG  United States 113.5  Belgium 102.8  China 99.0  France 92.7  Spain 87.5

Awards

The awards were announced on 8 August 2021.^[18]

All-Star Team
Guard	Forwards	Center
Rui Machida	Emma Meesseman Breanna Stewart A'ja Wilson	Sandrine Gruda
MVP: Breanna Stewart

See also

• Basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament