Former Gophers basketball guard Lindsay Whalen and volleyball setter Lindsey Berg helped their teams to the Olympic semifinals in London this week.
The U.S. basketball team crushed Canada 91-48 in Tuesday’s quarterfinal after going undefeated in group play.
The U.S. cruised through its group games against Croatia, Angola, Turkey, the Czech Republic and China.
Against China, the American women tied their record for the most points in a game with 114, set at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
In the six games, Whalen has accumulated 109 minutes, 55 points and 16 assists. Her Minnesota Lynx teammate Seimone Augustus has tallied 111 minutes with 46 points and 10 assists.
But the real standout has been their teammate Maya Moore. The forward has done what Whalen and Augustus haven’t — break into the starting lineup. She started the last three games against Canada, China and the Czech Republic.
In her 111 minutes, Moore has scored 57 points with 16 assists.
The U.S. will face Australia on Thursday in the semifinals after the Aussies defeated China 75-60 in the quarterfinals. The winner will advance to the gold medal match Saturday. The loser will still compete in the bronze medal match the same day.
Australia has lost to the U.S. three consecutive times in the Olympic finals and settled for the silver medal.
Volleyball
Similar to the basketball team, the U.S. women’s volleyball team went undefeated and topped its group in pool play and advanced to the semifinals.
The U.S. made the semifinals without Berg, their captain and former Gophers setter. In the U.S.’s third set of Sunday’s final pool play match, Berg injured her left ankle and had to be substituted out for backup setter Courtney Thompson.
Berg sat on the bench for the quarterfinal match against the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, which the Americans won 3-0.
While Berg has a history of injuries, including a knee surgery in 2009, head coach Hugh McCutcheon said postgame that the injury seemed manageable and he hoped to use Berg in the semifinals.
Before Berg’s injury, she managed to accumulate 413 sets, 73 serves, 15 spikes, 24 blocks and 57 digs.
In pool play, the U.S. beat South Korea and Brazil 3-1 and defeated China, Serbia and Turkey in the minimum three sets.
The Americans will face South Korea again Thursday in the semifinals. South Korea beat Italy 3-1 in its quarterfinal.
