Bird, Jackson to play for basketball gold

BEIJING – Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson will meet on the floor once again with an Olympic gold medal on the line.

It could be the last time the Seattle Storm teammates are on the same floor this year.

The United States and Australia both won their semifinal games Thursday to advance to Saturday's gold medal match-up, but the teams took decidedly different paths to get there.

The U.S. beat Russia in its closest contest in Beijing, 67-52.

Diana Taurasi scored 21 points and Tina Thompson added 15.

The U.S. had been averaging 99.2 points as they cruised through the first six games, winning by 43 points a contest.

However the Americans hadn't played a team as good as Russia, which had been inconsistent during the Olympics -- barely winning games in pool play.

For nearly 23 minutes Russia gave the U.S. all it could handle, taking a 38-33 lead on Maria Stepanova's bank shot with 7:17 left in the third quarter.

Then the Americans scored the next 12 points.

Sue Bird did not score, but had three steals and two assists.

Belinda Snell had 16 points as Australia beat host China 90-56. Jackson added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Aussies.

The gold medal game will be Saturday at 7 a.m. Seattle time. The U.S. will be looking to win its fourth straight Olympic gold medal. Australia has lost to the Americans in the medal round of the past three Olympics, taking home silver in the past two games.

After the Olympics, Jackson will undergo ankle surgery that will force her to miss the rest of the WNBA's regular season. She could return for the playoffs.