US defends women's basketball Olympic gold

The United States won its third consecutive gold medal in the women's basketball tournament of the Athens Olympic Games, beating Australia 74-63 in the final on Saturday.

The United States thus extended its unbeaten record in the Olympics to 25 games after it finished third in the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and Dawn Staley, had three gold medals under their names from the 1996 in Atlanta, the 2000 in Sydney and the 2004 in Athens.

The United States, who had never lost to Australia in previous four meetings in the Games, led only 52-50 after the first three quarters.

Led by Tina Thompson's 18 points, the American women ran away in the fourth quarter at 63-53 to make the 30th gold medal for the U.S. delegation.

Staley, 34, chipped in 14 points while Leslie added 13 points and eight rebounds. Shannon Johnson contributed 12 points and six rebounds.

Phoenix Mercury's guard Penny Taylor led the Australians by 16 points, with Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storms' forward, having 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Trailing by 29-26 in the first half, Australia used a 7-1 run to take a 33-30 lead, the only lead after the break.

In the bronze medal final, Russia defeated Brazil 71-62 for the third placing.