LILLE, France (July 28, 2024)—After trailing much of the game, Spain (1-0) came back and won its opening Olympic contest in overtime, 90-89, over China (0-1) with a team-best 29 points coming from Las Vegas Aces center Megan Gustafson on Sunday in Lille, France.
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Making her Olympic debut, Gustafson, who shot 14 of 21, grabbed 8 rebounds, and added 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. Her 29 points are the third-most for a Spanish player in an Olympic women’s basketball contest.
China led 22-13 after the first quarter, 37-33 at the half and 59-53 after 30 minutes of play. Leonor Rodriguez hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game and missed her potentially game-winning free throw. Throughout the game Spain continued to pull close but never managed to pull back its early lead until Gustafson hit Spain’s first bucket in overtime. She scored 6 of her team’s 14 points in extra time.
Spain continues pool play against Puerto Rico (0-0) on Wednesday, July 31 at 2 am PT in Lille. The game, as with all Olympic events, will be live streamed on Peacock.