A’ja Wilson , Kahleah Cooper L. Busacca/Getty Image ; Kelly Balch/Getty Images
Team USA won yet another gold medal in the Olympics women’s basketball tournament thanks in part to stunning moves by guard Kahleah Copper, who finished the game with 12 points; 10 of those in the fourth quarter.
While celebrating the win, teammate A’ja Wilson was asked by reporters on the court to describe Copper, 29, in one word.
“That bitch,” Wilson, 28, quipped.
The U.S. women’s basketball squad toppled France 67-66 on Sunday, August 11, earning their eighth consecutive gold medal. France will receive the silver and Australia the bronze.
As Team USA takes on the 2024 Paris Olympics, the American athletes have already made an impression at the summer Games. The 2024 Olympics kicked off on Friday, July 26, with an illustrious opening ceremony that took place entirely outdoors on the River Seine and featured performances from the likes of Celine Dion and Lady […]
“We just knew what we had to do,” Wilson, who was named the game MVP, told reporters after the victory. “We believed in each other and that’s the greatest thing about it.”
Wilson, for her part, scored 21 points and 13 rebounds while Copper scored an impressive late-game basket. But it was Gabby Williams’ final shot at the buzzer that helped the U.S. team clinch gold. During Williams’ final play, her foot was on the three-point line.
Celebrating the win on Instagram, Wilson simply captioned a pic of the arena, “Gold.”
With the Olympics in the rearview, Wilson is heading back to the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces with a new purpose.
“I think every single season I feel like I’m planting seeds for, not just for myself and the team, but for the next generation,” Wilson exclusively told Us Weekly in April. “To be able to not go through the things that we went through the year before and continue to just invest in myself and my team is something huge.”
Getty Images (2) Team USA receives a lot of hardware whenever the summer and winter Olympics are played — but what happens to their gold, silver and bronze medals once they return home? Michael Phelps revealed in September 2016 that he doesn’t “ever travel” with his medals, which include 23 gold, three silver and two […]
She added at the time, “I think we have a lot of eyes on us, obviously, now. So now it’s time to kind of be like, ‘No, this is a reason why you’re watching us.’ And every single year I try to be better in that.”
The American men’s team also won a gold medal during their tournament, similarly beating France in a close game. They won 98-87.
“For me to get a gold medal is insane, and I thank God for the opportunity to experience it,” Olympic rookie Steph Curry gushed to reporters on Saturday, August 10.
Curry’s Golden State Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, also mentored the Olympics squad.
“I think we might be the only team in the world whose fans are ashamed of them if they get a silver medal,” Kerr, 58, said on Saturday. “That’s the pressure that we face. But our players, and you saw Steph, they love the pressure. They appreciate this atmosphere and they were fantastic.”