DePaul University Athletics
Bruno Departs Chicago for Second Straight Olympics
7/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - The five-time defending Olympic gold medalist USA women's basketball team will arrive Saturday in Los Angeles to begin preparing for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
DePaul women's basketball coach Doug Bruno returns as a member of USA coach Geno Auriemma's staff after helping guide the Americans to an Olympic-record fifth consecutive title at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. That had never been accomplished in a women's traditional team sport.
Team USA led by three-time gold medalists and WNBA stars Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) will play an exhibition game against a USA Select Team on Monday, July 25 before heading to the University of Delaware for an exhibition game against France on July 27.
The USA team which will also feature first-time Olympians Elene Delle Donne (Chicago Sky), Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury) and Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm) faces Canada in an exhibition matchup on July 29 in Bridgeport, Conn. Two days later, Australia is the exhibition opponent at Madison Square Garden.
After arriving in Houston on Aug. 1, where it will go through U.S. Olympic Team processing and get official Team USA gear, the team will board a charter flight the next night for Rio de Janeiro. The women's national team will march in the Opening Ceremony Aug. 5 and play its Olympic opener Aug. 7 against Senegal, looking to extend its 41-game Olympics winning streak.
The Americans will face Spain 24 hours later followed by a game against Serbia on Aug. 10. They have a showdown against Canada on Aug. 12 and close out the preliminary round Aug. 14 versus China.
The top four teams in the USA's Group B and Group A (Australia, Belarus, Brazil, France, Japan, Turkey) advance to the Aug. 16 quarterfinals. The semifinals are set for Aug. 18 with the bronze and gold medal games on Aug. 20.
Sunday, July 24
Youth Development Fan Fest (Staples Center | Los Angeles, CA)
Monday, July 25
USA vs. Select Team (Galen Center | Los Angeles, CA)
Wednesday, July 27
USA vs. France (Bob Carpenter Center | Newark, DE)
Friday, July 29
USA vs. Canada (Webster Bank Arena | Bridgeport, CT)
Sunday, July 31
USA vs. Australia (Madison Square Garden | New York, NY)
Tuesday, August 2- Wednesday, August 3
Fly to and arrive in Rio de Janeiro
Friday, August 5
Open Ceremony
Sunday, August 7
USA vs. Senegal
Monday, August 8
USA vs. Spain
Wednesday, August 10
USA vs. Serbia
Friday, August 12
USA vs. Canada
Sunday, August 14
USA vs. China
Tuesday, August 16
Quarterfinals
Thursday, August 18
Semifinals
Saturday, August 20
Bronze & Gold Medal Games
