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Women's Basketball Quarterfinals: USA readying for Australia

Women's Basketball Quarterfinals: USA readying for Australia
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The group stage is over. For the remaining women's basketball teams, it's win or go home.

The women's basketball quarterfinals begin Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET between China and Serbia and continue into Wednesday morning, wrapping up with Spain vs. France.

CHINA VS. SERBIA

China has been one of the best teams in the women's competition since the Tokyo Olympics began. Finishing group play undefeated, the Chinese are considered one of the few teams capable of taking down juggernauts like the United States or Spain.

Only the U.S. has averaged more points per game than China since Olympic competition began. China has been extremely efficient from the field, and Serbia will likely have its hands full trying to stop one of the better all-around teams still competing.

AUSTRALIA VS. UNITED STATES

It's no secret at this point. The U.S. is looking to continue their run of dominance and earn its seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal in women's basketball.

While Australia has played some very good basketball at times, it would be an earth-shattering upset if they managed to earn a victory over the Americans. Four-time Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi are joined by some of the world's top rising stars, and though anything is possible at the Olympics, an Australia victory appears extremely unlikely barring an unforeseen turn of events.

JAPAN VS. BELGIUM

The men's Japanese team was unable to qualify for the quarterfinals, so now it comes down to the women to try and win a medal for the host country.

Taking down Belgium will be no easy task, though. Belgium only lost one game during group play, and that was against the strong Chinese squad. Should Japan pull out the win, it would be considered one of the bigger upsets of the competition.

SPAIN VS. FRANCE

France has left much to be desired thus far, and things won't get easier for them as they take on perhaps the best team in the competition not from the United States.

Spain isn't known for its high-powered offense, but its defense has stood out in Tokyo. They allow just 68.3 points per game and do an excellent job of blocking shots — they're currently tied with the U.S. for the most blocks in the competition. If France is to advance to the semifinals, they'll need to have the offense firing on all cylinders Wednesday.