The United States and Australia prevailed in the Athens Olympics women's basketball tournament by winning fourth straight preliminary victories Friday.

The Americans, the reigning Olympic and world champions, beat Spain 71-58 for their fourth straight win and snapped the three- game winning streak of the Europeans.

Tina Thompson underlined the United States' confidence to win their third Olympic gold medal in a row.

"We are here only to win the gold medal. The second place will be a total failure," said Thompson, who scored 16 points in 27 minutes. "If we continue in the same way, there is no question that we will achieve our goal."

Spain made it close in the first half, but the United States pulled away with a 8-0 burst from a 37-all tie and never looked back.

"In the first half we committed lots of fouls defensively and we didn't shoot the ball well, giving our opponents the chance to stay close and put some pressure on us," Thompson added. " Fortunately in the second half we managed to control the boards, run in the fast-breaks and score some easy baskets which opened the game."

Lisa Leslie led the United States with 19 points and nine rebounds and Tamika Catchings added 14 points.

Spain has secured a second finish in group B with a 3-1 record.

The Czech Republic and New Zealand also iced their places in the quarter-finals with victories over South Korea and China respectively. The Asian champion China (1-3) and South Korea (0-4) will go to the 9th-12th deciders.

Sydney Olympic silver medallist Australia remained atop in group A after a 77-40 rout of Greece Friday evening.

Lauren Jackson led the Australian women with 20 points in 28 minutes.

In other actions of group A, Russia (3-1) delivered Japan (1-3) 94-71 while Brazil (3-1) beat Nigeria (0-4) 82-63. Russia and Brazil have clinched berths in the quarter-finals while Japan and Greece will vie for the last ticket to top eight in a head-to-head battle on Sunday.

Source: Xinhua