US women seek sixth hoops gold in a row against Spain

A United States women's basketball dynasty team plays for a sixth consecutive Olympic gold medal and its eighth in the past nine Games on Saturday against heavy underdog Spain.

The Americans, last beaten at the Olympics in a 1992 semi-final, are 88-1 over the past 20 years in global tournaments and own a 48-game Olympic win streak.

Diana Taurasi, Tamika Catchings and Sue Bird can each match an Olympic basketball record with their fourth gold medal, tying ex-US stars Lisa Leslie and Teresa Edwards for the most by any player, man or woman.

"We really haven't talked about it," Taurasi said. "It has been kind of the elephant in the room that we're ignoring. we really want to be in the moment. We want it to be about this team. It's not about whether it's our last game."

The record-tying trio are expected to be playing their last US game, Bird only if she can overcome a right knee injury.

"This is your body. You have to listen to it. You don?t want to put yourself in danger," Bird said. "But if I can play, I?m definitely playing."

Bird's absence saw the US team struggle to adopt to new roles in the first half of a semi-final against France before they found their form in the second half.

"We probably needed a game like this under our belt going into Saturday. We found out a lot about what we need to do and what we're capable of doing," US coach Geno Auriemma said.

Spain secured a first-ever Olympic women's basketball medal by beating European champion Serbia in the other semi-final.

"Being in the Olympics is something amazing," said Spain scoring leader Alba Torrens. "To win a medal, it's a dream."

To do more than silver, they will have to make the Americans live their worst nightmare.

"They have shown all these years they are the best team," Torrens said. "It will be so difficult. They have the best team and best players. But from the first tip to the last moment we will be fighting."

The US women are 9-0 in world and Olympic play against Spain, including a 103-63 rout in the Rio group stage.

"It's going to be the same old dance," Taurasi said. "This is going to be a great game between great teams."

US forward Angel McCoughtry expects better intensity from her squad than any game yet in Rio now that gold is finally at stake.

"It's going to mean a lot," she said. "We are ready for the gold medal game. We have to be serious and really get this."

Catchings warns that the Americans have yet to play their best for a full 40 minutes.

"I'm super excited," she said. "I think we will come out with a lot more energy than we have. I know we talk about it every game but we still haven't put out the best team that we are."