2012 Olympic Women’s Basketball Schedule Unveiled

Colorado Springs, Colo. • May 23, 2012

The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) today announced pairings and game times for the 2012 Olympic women’s basketball tournament. Six games will be played each day during the July 28-Aug. 5 preliminary round, beginning at 9:00 a.m. (all times local) with the final tip-off slated for 10:15 p.m. Three of the USA’s games will start at 10:15 p.m., and the two weekend contests will be played at 4:45 p.m.

Three of the USA’s opponents will be determined following the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, scheduled for June 25 – July 1 in Ankara, Turkey, with the top five finishing teams earning the final five Olympic qualifying berths.

The U.S. women open preliminary round play on July 28 at 4:45 p.m. (11:45 a.m. EDT) against an opponent to be determined, followed by a contest against Angola on July 30 at 10:15 p.m. (5:15 p.m. EDT). The USA’s Aug. 1 and Aug. 3 opponents will be drawn from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and both of those games tip-off at 10:15 p.m. (5:15 p.m. EDT). The United States will close preliminary round play against China on Aug. 5 at 4:45 p.m. (11:45 a.m. EDT).

The top four teams from each preliminary round group will advance to the Aug. 7 quarterfinals, with the winners playing in the semifinals on Aug. 9 and the medal games on Aug. 11.

University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma will lead the U.S. in its quest for a fifth-straight Olympic gold medal. He will be assisted by DePaul University head coach Doug Bruno, 1988 Olympic gold medalist and Washington Mystics assistant coach Jen Gillom, and Atlanta Dream head coach Marynell Meadors.

The U.S. women’s team was finalized on April 23 and includes:Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Swin Cash(Chicago Sky), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun), Angel McCoughtry(Atlanta Dream), Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx), Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) and Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota Lynx).

The U.S. will look to capture its fifth straight and seventh overall gold medal and extend its 33-game Olympic winning streak at the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London. The United States, which earned the silver medal at the inaugural Olympic women’s basketball tournament in 1976, earned its first gold at the ’84 Games in Los Angeles and captured its most recent gold with an unblemished 8-0 record in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.