For the second consecutive day, the United States silenced the home crowd in Paris as their women's basketball team narrowly edged their French counterparts, 67-66, in a gripping gold medal match to notch an eighth straight Olympic title.

Both teams struggled to find the basket in an unusually low-scoring first half, which ended 25-all. France shot 28 percent from the field, compared to 29 percent for Team USA.

The hosts then brought the crowd on their feet, after starting the second half on a 10-0 run to go 35-25 up for their biggest lead of the game.

But that advantage did not last, as the Americans finally broke out of a funk and scored 16 of the next 21 points to go back on top.

The two sides exchanged leads in the fourth quarter, but the Americans held on to their slim edge to win by the finest of margins.

Down by three with 3.8 seconds left, France could have sent the game into overtime with a three. But Gabby Williams stepped inside the three-point line as she hoisted - and made - a two-point shot as time expired.

Australia earlier beat Belgium 85-81 in the bronze medal match, returning to the podium for the first time since London 2012.