A’ja Wilson leads Team USA to victory against Nigeria in Olympic prelims

It’s hard to argue that this hasn’t been a weird start to the Tokyo “2020” Olympics. Between the year delay, no spectators, Japan’s dire COVID situation, and the extreme time difference to contend with when watching many events, these Games understandably haven’t been generating as much excitement as usual.

That being said, Gamecock fans have two compelling reasons to at least check in — Dawn Staley and A’ja Wilson. Team USA’s women’s basketball team got their tournament off on the right foot in an 81-72 win over Nigeria, with Wilson’s 19 points and 13 rebounds leading the Americans to the preliminary round victory.

Wilson, who made her Olympics debut, also added two blocks and two steals under Staley, who guided the U.S. to its 50th straight Olympic win in her first appearance as the team’s head coach at the Games.

The U.S. next plays on Friday morning at 12:40 a.m. against host Japan, if you happen to be up and looking for something fun to watch while late night channel surfing.

Also of note: Fellow Gamecock alum Allisha Gray is playing on Team USA’s 3x3 basketball team, which earned the No. 1 seed in the medal round, and junior Laeticia Amihere made her Olympic debut as well with Team Canada.