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U.S. women shut down Serbia, advance to gold medal game

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Team USA's women's basketball team is headed to its seventh-straight Olympic gold medal game.

The U.S. women defeated Serbia early Friday morning by a score of 79-59, giving them a chance to equal the U.S. men's remarkable gold medal streak from 1936 to 1968.

And if advancing to the women's final wasn't enough, they also extended their Olympic winning streak to 54 straight games.

After having their lead cut to just nine points in the second quarter, the Americans quickly regrouped and went on an 11-2 run to take a 41-23 advantage into the half. The game was never all that competitive beyond halftime as the U.S. continued to pull away and cushion their lead.

As was the case in Team USA's quarterfinal win over Australia, USA's Breanna Stewart was outstanding once more against the Serbians. The 26-year-old Syracuse native logged 12 points, 10 rebounds and three assists while Sue Bird, now just one win away from winning a fifth Olympic gold medal alongside teammate Diana Taurasi, finished with eight points and three boards.

Brittney Griner put together one of her best performances of the competition. Her dominance in the paint came as no surprise (12 rebounds and a shot block), but she also recorded a team-leading 15 points, which ties her largest point output in Tokyo.

The United States will face either Japan or France in the gold medal game Saturday night at 10:30 p.m. ET while Serbia will play for bronze early Saturday morning at 3 a.m. ET.