Taurasi's Effort Leads U.S. to Final

Guard Overcomes Injury and Illness: United States 67, Russia 52

BEIJING, Aug. 21 -- Diana Taurasi had scratches under her right eye and the thumb on her shooting hand was throbbing. And, as she answered reporters' questions, she kept pausing, turning and coughing into her warmup shirt.

The U.S. women's basketball team had advanced to the Olympic gold medal game by defeating Russia, 67-52, but this had been nothing like her team's earlier romps. After winning their first six games by an average of 43.2 points, with no team finishing within 36 points of them, the Americans trailed late in the first half before pulling away.

When asked about her persistent cough, Taurasi attempted to make her 21-point, 9-rebound effort the stuff of legend. "That's a Jordan flu right there," Taurasi said, referring to Michael Jordan's legendary flu game in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.

Taurasi then raised her eyebrows and smiled, anticipating the ensuing laughter. The U.S. team certainly needed Taurasi to have a special performance to reach the Olympic final for the fourth consecutive time. The Americans will face Australia for the third time in a row, after it routed China, 90-56, in the other semifinal.

The United States trailed 30-23 with less than three minutes left in the first half, when Taurasi ignited the comeback with two three-pointers during a 10-0 run. She added another three-pointer during a 12-0 third-quarter run that turned a five-point deficit into a 45-38 lead that Russia was unable to overcome.

"It was one of those games where you knock down shots when you need them," Taurasi said after making five three-pointers. "I think that's the beauty of our team -- on any given night, any of us can do it. It was just my turn."

With the United States relying mostly on the inside play of veterans Tina Thompson and Lisa Leslie and Olympic newcomer Sylvia Fowles this tournament, Taurasi has had to pick her spots. She led the team in scoring with 17 points in the debut against the Czech Republic, but had only scored in double figures two other times before Thursday, when Leslie and Fowles were unable to provide their usual production.

"Diana is a big-time, money player," U.S. Coach Anne Donovan said of Taurasi, a three-time NCAA champion at Connecticut. "You could tell she was ready for this game. The bigger the game, the bigger Diana is, and her energy, players feed off that."

Taurasi's greatest contribution may have been settling down her teammates during a difficult first half in which U.S. players couldn't make their shots and the Russians wouldn't miss. "She probably, out of all of us, stayed the most focused and just told us, 'Hey, guys relax,' " forward Tamika Catchings said. "It's not like Diana to try to relax. She's usually out there trying to play football on the basketball court."

Taurasi has boundless energy and is still -- even during the national anthem, she is bouncing side-to-side. She frowned when informed that she was actually a calming influence with her words.

"I say it in a fiery way, though," the Phoenix Mercury guard said.

One win from her second Olympic gold medal, Taurasi is taking a more prominent leadership role after deferring to Leslie, Thompson, Sheryl Swoopes and Dawn Staley four years ago in Athens. "In 2004, we were the young kids and didn't really have much of a hand in it, but we learned so much from them," she said. "When it's your turn you have to really step up."

Taurasi said she didn't have a problem with American Becky Hammon playing for Russia, acknowledging that while she loves America, she has an Italian father and an Argentine mother, so she finds herself rooting for other countries at times. "I do want Argentina to beat Nigeria in soccer," she said with a laugh about the men's Olympic soccer final. "I just do."

Taurasi also uses an Italian passport to play for the Russian EuroLeague team Spartak Moscow during the winter. With so many players on the floor -- including five from Team USA -- playing professional basketball in Russia, the game pitted her against several people she's played with. "It's been a real crazy dynamic with that. I have some really good friends over there," Taurasi said of the Russian national team.

But you couldn't tell. At one point in the second half, former Connecticut teammate Svetlana Abrosimova leaned in a bit too close and Taurasi elbowed her in the face. Abrosimova dropped to the floor, holding the right side of her face and weeping as she moved downcourt. "Games like this are just fun. You don't get to play many of these. You can feel it. You're fighting every possession. I got scratched up, jammed the thumb," Taurasi said, before pausing. "I'm sure they've got some bumps and bruises, too."