Basketball, Women
| Date | 19 – 26 July 1976 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Centre Étienne Desmarteau, Montréal, Québec | |
| Participants | 72 from 6 countries | |
| Format | Round-robin tournament. | |
Basketball World Championships for women had first been contested in 1953, with the United States’ women winning in 1953 and 1957. The Soviet Union then took over, winning in 1959, 1964, 1967, 1971, and 1975. European Championships had been contested since 1938, and the Soviets had won every title since 1950, save for 1958, when Bulgaria was the champion. Without an international loss in five years, the Soviets were felt to be the heavy favorites going into the first Olympic basketball tournament for women in 1976. The USSR team was led by their huge center, Uljana Semjonova, who stood 2.11 (6-11). Six teams were entered – the USA, Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Japan, and Canada. But nobody was a match for the Soviet team, which defeated the United States, 112-77. Its closest match came against Czechoslovakia, when it won “only” by 88-75.
Round-Robin
| Date | 19 – 26 July 1976 — 9:00 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 19 Jul 9:00 | Japan |  JPN | 84 – 71 | United States |  USA | |
| Match #2 | 19 Jul 14:00 | Soviet Union |  URS | 115 – 51 | Canada |  CAN | |
| Match #3 | 19 Jul 19:00 | Bulgaria |  BUL | 67 – 66 | Czechoslovakia |  TCH | |
| Match #4 | 20 Jul 9:00 | Japan | JPN | 121 – 89 | Canada | CAN | |
| Match #5 | 20 Jul 14:00 | United States | USA | 95 – 79 | Bulgaria | BUL | |
| Match #6 | 20 Jul 19:00 | Soviet Union | URS | 88 – 75 | Czechoslovakia | TCH | |
| Match #7 | 22 Jul 9:00 | Soviet Union | URS | 91 – 68 | Bulgaria | BUL | |
| Match #8 | 22 Jul 14:00 | Czechoslovakia | TCH | 76 – 62 | Japan | JPN | |
| Match #9 | 22 Jul 19:00 | United States | USA | 89 – 75 | Canada | CAN | |
| Match #10 | 23 Jul 9:00 | Bulgaria | BUL | 66 – 63 | Japan | JPN | |
| Match #11 | 23 Jul 14:00 | Czechoslovakia | TCH | 67 – 59 | Canada | CAN | |
| Match #12 | 23 Jul 19:00 | Soviet Union | URS | 112 – 77 | United States | USA | |
| Match #13 | 25 Jul 9:00 | Bulgaria | BUL | 85 – 62 | Canada | CAN | |
| Match #14 | 26 Jul 14:00 | United States | USA | 83 – 67 | Czechoslovakia | TCH | |
| Match #15 | 26 Jul 19:00 | Soviet Union | URS | 98 – 75 | Japan | JPN |