.Brian Windhorst, ESPN Elderly Person WriterAug 7, 2024, 05:28 PM ETCloseESPN.com NBA writer since 2010.Covered Cleveland Cavs for 7 years.Writer of 2 booksPARIS-- The mix of A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart has actually shown to be a devasting combination for the Staff United States girls, relevant where there is a scenario creating that they could possibly share the Olympics Many Prized Possession Player Award.But there is actually a brand-new duo surfacing, though not a shocking one, that is actually proved to become a significant increase as the Americans pursue another gold medal.Las Vegas Aces teammates Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young have actually improved to become difference-makers in France and also participated in crucial jobs in Group United States's 88-74 triumph over Nigeria in the quarterfinals.It denoted the crew's 59th consecutive Olympic victory and establishes a semifinal matchup versus Australia, victors over Serbia Wednesday, on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.Jackie Youthful do with double-digit aspects for the second upright game, firing 60% from the industry in the USA' gain Nigeria. CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockCoach Cheryl Reeve moved Youthful right into the beginning sequence in place of professional Diana Taurasi versus Nigeria, a group recognized for participating in high pressure full-court self defense that tests setting against guards.It was actually a benefit after Young scored 19 aspects with four steals off the bench in the last pool play activity against Germany. She reacted with an additional outstanding performance, playing with power at both points along with an additional Aces ally, Chelsea Gray, in the backcourt.Young racked up 15 aspects as well as aided bring the united state offense early in the video game as the Americans left to a little a slow-moving begin by their standards.Nigeria was behind through simply 4 points midway through the 2nd quarter. That's when Reeve visited Plum, who was actually the 12th as well as ultimate player to enter the game for the Americans. Plum quickly changed the game along with her death and speed on the offensive point, giving out 3 easy assists and nailing a 3-pointer. Plum completed with merely 6 points yet her six-minute shift to finish the very first fifty percent resulted in a plus-11 on the scoreboard to press the lead to 19 at one-half. The USA after that began the 2nd half on a 15-0 run and the stress 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 every game, played their company of skillful oppressor round. Wilson placed in twenty aspects on 9-of-11 firing along with 11 rebounds and also 2 blocks. Stewart had 13 aspects on 5-of-7 firing with 5 rebounds and also 3 assists.Brittney Griner came off the bench to rating 11 ideas on 4-of-5 firing. Those 3 internal markers mixing for 16-of-21 is actually difficult to beat.The USA got into the activity balancing 29 helps and also once more applied a ball-sharing facility by putting together 31 more.Promise Amukamara led Nigeria, which cut the lead down to as low as 13 in the 4th quarter, with 19 points. The video game ended with a little upper hand when the U.S.'s Kahleah Copper got a specialized filthy for throwing the reception at Nigeria's Ezinne Kalu after she racked up in the ultimate secs.