Thursday was a very busy day at the Paris Olympics for athletes with Minnesota ties.
St. Paul gymnast Suni Lee and Lakeville swimmer Regan Smith vied for more hardware in events that they medaled in at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Lee captured a bronze in the women’s all-around, while Smith earned a silver in the 200-meter butterfly.
Two Lynx players faced each other in a must-win group play game. Alise Willoughby of St. Cloud, Minnesota’s only four-time Olympian in Paris, began her quest for an elusive gold in BMX racing. And Gophers were on the golf course, the volleyball court and the balance beam.
Here’s how the day played out:
4:15 p.m.: U.S. women’s basketball team reaches quarterfinals
The United States women’s basketball team, led by Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, defeated Belgium 87-74 behind Breanna Stewart’s 26 points and earned a spot in the Olympic quarterfinals.
The game was played in Lille, France, near the border with Belgium, so the crowd overwhelmingly favored the Belgians, who were led Emma Meesseman’s 24 points.
Belgium got to within 50-46 in third quarter, but the U.S. went on an 8-1 run, including five straight points from the Lynx’s Napheesa Collier, to build another double-digit lead. Collier finished with 7 points.
The Americans, who have won 57 straight games in the Olympics, have one more group-play game, against 2-0 Germany on Sunday.