Group A will be the focus for the women's basketball tournament of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday, July 31. In a doubleheader, Puerto Rico takes on Spain at 5 a.m. ET as Trinity San Antonio stands out in our expert pick of the matchup.
On the flipside, China and Serbia will be taking the court right after for a 7:30 a.m. ET matchup as our experts take on best bets for each Group A game on tap. Check out our picks for Wednesday, July 31 below!
Women's Basketball Preliminary Round Picks | Wednesday, July 31
| Time (ET) | Women's Basketball Preliminary Round Best Bets |
|---|---|
| 5 a.m. | |
| 7:30 a.m. |
Puerto Rico vs. Spain — 5 a.m. ET
Trinity San Antonio Over 7.5 pts
Arella Guirantes was benched in the second half for Puerto Rico's comeback and three-point loss to Serbia over the weekend.
It hasn't been reported as to why, which would be nice.
It didn't appear to be an injury, though. Guirantes didn't play during the comeback and was awful when she did play in the first half.
She's the team's best player, scorer and creator. But in her abscence, fellow starter Trinity San Antonio rose to score 11 points — all critical — along with four steals while shooting 5-for-9.
Maybe this is the Guirantes bounce back spot, but in the program, San Antonio has established herself as one of the key standouts, all while being a soon to be senior at Division I Grand Canyon.
I like her to go over 7.5 points in another strong effort.
Pick: Trinity San Antonio Over 7.5 Points (Bet365)
China vs. Serbia — 7:30 a.m. ET
China -7.5
China played really well against Spain but managed to lose in overtime. They led for most of the game, though.
Serbia is coming off a performance against Puerto Rico where they really should've covered the large 18-point spread, but went from leading up over 20 points to toy with losing after going scoreless for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter.
Puerto Rico came back and lost 58-55 despite Arella Guirantes, their best scorer, struggling in the first half and sitting for the second.
Mya Hollingshed, PR's second best player, was also out.
China has a bounce-back spot set up here against a team they're just bigger and better than.
Pick: China -7.5 (Bet365)
