USA vs. Canada Women's Basketball: What We Learned from Today's Quarterfinal

This morning, the United States eliminated Canada in women's basketball and advanced to the semifinals with a 91-48 win in today's quarterfinal matchup.

Unlike some of the previous games for Team USA in the Olympics, this one was never close, and the talent difference between the two teams was clear from the start. America jumped out to a 19-8 lead in the first quarter, and they never looked back.

It was a balanced scoring attack again for Team USA, with five players in double figures and Diana Turasi leading the way with 15 points.

Team USA shot nearly 48 percent from the field in the win and out-rebounded Canada 45-29. 

One thing we learned from this matchup and continue to learn from this tournament overall is just how good Team USA can be and how big the separation is between them and most other countries in the world at women's basketball. 

Having players like Angel McCoughtry, Candace Parker and Simone Augustus coming off the bench, when they would likely be the best player for many other countries, is a prime example of just how good Team USA can be.

However, the team who can likely come the closest to defeating them is undoubtedly Australia, who is led by WNBA star Lauren Jackson and is the No. 2 team in the world.

If Australia can knock off China later today, it would set up a semifinal match up between the world's top two teams. 

It will be up to head coach Gino Auriemma to ensure that Team USA does not get overconfident and take the Australians lightly because there is no doubt that they can hang around with Team USA.

One thing the Americans can not afford to do is get complacent. This is not a seven-game series; if they have one slip-up against a good Australian team, they will see themselves playing for the bronze.

With Jackson, Australia will look to pound the inside, so Tina Charles, Candace Parker and company have to be up to the challenge.

One weakness America does have is shooting beyond the arc. Although they have several capable shooters, if Australia can force them to rely on their long range shot, they are not consistent enough to feel supremely confident in that style of play. In today's game against Canada, Team USA shot just 2-9 from three-point range. 

If they end up facing China, they will need to watch out for the Chinese three-point shooting, which is actually one of their team's strengths. They utilized the deep ball well against Team USA in the first half of the two teams' first meeting. 

Nan Chen is the leading scorer in the tournament as well with 17.6 points per game, so she will provide a challenge to America's defense—if China can pull the upset in the quarters over Australia. 

It is a testament to just how deep USA is that they are winning by as much as they are and don't even have a player in the top 10 in scoring average in the tournament.

In terms of their matchup today, it was a nice tune-up for the Americans before the real challenge begins in the semifinals.

One thing we did learn was that, despite all of their talent, this is still Diana Turasi's team. Turasi is the best in the world at creating her own shot and has shown a tremendous knack for stepping up when the pressure is the highest. 

In 2016, McCoughtry, Maya Moore and Parker will be the unquestioned leaders. For now, whenever the team is lagging and in need of a bucket, Auriemma leans on Turasi to get the team back on track, just like he did when she was playing under him at Connecticut. 

It seems unlikely Team USA will ever need a last-second play drawn up, but if they do, you can be sure it will be Turasi taking the shot.

For Canada, they can hang their hat on making it into the quarterfinals. As a country, they continue to take strides in the right direction in fielding a competitive women's basketball team.  However, they are likely still several years away from being able to compete with the likes of team USA on a consistent basis. 

If USA can avoid a slip-up in their final two matchups and come out with gold once again, this team will be compared to the great teams of the past in women's basketball as the domination by America continues.