2016 Olympic basketball: Bracket, schedule, scores and more for women’s competition

The U.S. women’s national team will be looking to keep one of the most impressive streaks in Olympic sports alive, as they gear up to fight for their sixth gold medal in a row. Australia, France, Serbia and Spain appear to be their main competition, but after winning 40 consecutive games and boasting the best talent in the world, the U.S. has to be considered the prohibitive favorite to once again claim the top of the podium.

There was some controversy surrounding the selection process of the team that will represent the United States. Candace Parker, one of most famous and accomplished players in the world, didn’t make the final cut. Instead Seattle Storm rookie Breanna Stewart earned that place. While Stewart is undoubtedly an elite talent that is already proving her worth at the WNBA level, statistically Parker was the superior player and at 30 years of age, she’s still at peak level.

Even with Parker’s absence, the U.S. had talent to spare. Last season’s MVP, Elena Delle Donne, will be there to provide scoring along with Tina Charles, who seems like a lock to win the award this year. There’s a mix of veterans and youngsters, with 37-year-old Tamika Catchings, 34-year-old Diana Taurasi and 35-year-old Sue Bird providing leadership for players like Stewart and Brittney Griner. The team is stacked and it has all the ingredients it needs to continue to dominate the competition once again.

There are several talented opponents, like Penny Taylor’s Australia, which will feature several first-time Olympians as it transitions from the past era as well as upstart Spain, which got gold and bronze in the the last two editions of Eurobasket. France is a recent medalist and European power, so they could be a threat to get in the podium. Serbia is the latest Eurobasket winner, so they are still a team to watch. The absence of a traditional power like Russia looms large but there still talent outside of the American squad.

It’s still incredibly hard to imagine any of those teams beating the U.S. It’s safe to say that the dynasty will continue. That’s how big the talent gap between the U.S. women’s basketball team and the rest of the world really is.

There are two groups of six teams. Every team in each groups plays against one another and the top four from each group move on to the quarter finals.

The top-seeded team from Group A faces the fourth-seeded team from Group B, and vice versa. Second-seeded squads face the third seed from the other group. The winners move on to the semifinals, which determine the finalists and the teams that battle for the bronze medal.

You can click here to check the standings and see the bracket after the preliminary round.

1. Australia: 5-0

2. France: 3-2

3. Turkey: 3-2

4. Japan: 3-2

5. Belarus: 1-4

6. Brazil: 0-5

1. USA: 4-0

2. Spain: 3-1

3. Canada: 3-1

4. China: 1-3

5. Serbia: 1-3

6. Senegal: 0-4

France 55, Turkey 39: France’s Sarah Michel scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in Rio’s opening game.

Canada 90, China 68: Tamara Tatham scored 20 points on 4-for-4 shooting for the Canadians.

Australia 84, Brazil 66: As expected, Liz Cambage was too much for the Brazilians as she tallied 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Australians. Phoenix Mercury guard Penny Taylor added 14 points as well.

Japan 77, Belarus 73: In what was the closest game of the day and an upset, Japan’s Mika Kurihara scored 20 points and the Seattle Storm’s Ramu Tokashiki dropped 16.

USA 121 - Senegal 56: In a 65-point romp the United States set records for its largest point total and largest margin of victory at the Olympics.

Spain 65 - Serbia 59: Jelena Milovanovic scored 17 points and added 5 rebounds to save Spain from an early upset.

AustralIa 61 - Turkey 56: In another big performance from Cambage, the Aussies edged out Turkey to remain perfect as the pool’s first 2-0 team.She scored 22 points and added 11 rebounds.

France 73 - Belarus 72: Belarus suffered another close loss, this time on a buzzer-beating bank shot from France’s Endy Miyem. She finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

USA 103 - Spain 63: Team USA did its thing again as Brittney Griner continued to dominate on both ends. She finished with 10 points and did damage protecting the rim.

Canada 71 - Serbia 67: Kia Nurse’s 25 points and 5 assists put away the Serbians for her team’s second win.

Japan 82 - Brazil 66: Tokashiki had another huge outing, dropping 23 points and 9 rebounds in a big win for Japan despite the team scoring just 9 fourth-quarter points.

China 101 - Senegal 66: China outscored Senegal 28-11 to finish the job up in the fourth quarter. Wen Lu finished with 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Australia 89 - France 71: Penny Taylor erupted for 31 points on 10-of-13 shooting, 9 assists and 5 rebounds to keep Australia perfect.

Belarus 65 - Brazil 63: Belarus turned another close finish into a win this time, coming back down 18 for its first win. Tatyana Troina lead the way with 18 points.

Turkey 76 - Japan 62: Turkey held Japan to just 9 points in the first quarter and pulled out its first win in pool play. Lara Sanders scored 36 points on 14-of-18 shooting.

Spain 89 - China 68: Alba Torrens scored 32 points on 15-of-25 shooting to give FIBA’s no. 2 ranked Spain its second win.

USA 110 - Serbia 84: Diana Taurasi broke her single-game 3-point shooting record when she knocked down six and Angel McCoughtry finished a 360 layup as the Americans won big again.

Canada 68 - Senegal 58: Canada became the third of three undefeated teams with 3-0 records. Tamara Tatham dropped 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Turkey 74 - Belarus 71: Nevriye Yilmaz scored 26 points and Lara Sanders added 22 points and 10 rebounds to close out the win for Turkey.

France 74 - Brazil 64: Gaelle Skrela scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Sandrine Gruda added 17 for the French.

Australia 92 - Japan 86: Liz Cambage poured in 37 points on 16-of-22 shooting to give the Aussies a come-from-behind win. Japan was outscored 33-18 in the fourth quarter.

Serbia 80 - China 72: Ana Dabovic scored 23 points and Sonja Petrovic scored 20, adding 8 rebounds and 6 assists for the Serbians.

USA 81 - Canada 51: Taurasi poured in four threes and Maya Moore added 12 points in another blowout win for the Americans.

Spain 97 - Senegal 43: Another big loss for Senegal saw Spain’s Alba Torrens score 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

Australia 74 - Belarus 66: Cambage scored 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting and totaled 9 rebounds.

Turkey 79 - Brazil 76: Lara Sanders scored 23 points, grabbed 10 boards and blocked 4 shots for Turkey. Isil Alben added 18 points and 9 rebounds as well.

Japan 79 - France 71: Asami Yoshida scored 24 points and dished 7 assists for Japan. France turned the ball over 25 times in the loss.

China vs. USA, 11:15 a.m.

Serbia vs. Senegal, 2:30 p.m.

Spain vs. Canada, 4:45 p.m.

A1 vs. B4, TBD

A2 vs. B3, TBD

B1 vs. A4, TBD

B2 vs. A3, TBD

Winner A1-B4 vs. Winner A3-B2, TBD

Winner B1-A4 vs. Winner B3-A2, TBD

Semifinals 1 loser vs. Semifinals 2 loser, 10:30 a.m.

Semifinals 1 winner vs. Semifinals 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.