The U.S. women's national basketball team played its first game of the 2024 Olympics in Paris on Monday and defeated Japan 102-76 in its Pool C group play opener.

Former South Carolina star A'ja Wilson was instrumental in the win, finishing with 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.

A'ja Wilson stats vs. Team Japan

As a starter for Team USA, Wilson scored the first bucket of the game and had a team-high 10 points in the opening quarter. In the first half, Japan had no answers for Wilson in the paint. At halftime she led the way with 17 points on 7-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.

Wilson productively found ways to score no matter what defensive scheme was thrown at her Monday, and lengthened Team USA's lead in the second half.

A'ja Wilson, South Carolina women's basketball Olympic history

This marks the second Olympics for Wilson, who helped carry the U.S. in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to a seventh-straight gold medal.

Wilson is one of two former Gamecocks players competing in the Olympics this year but is the only one competing for the United States. Laeticia Amihere, who played for coach Dawn Staley at South Carolina from 2019-23 is playing for Canada, who lost to France 75-54 in Pool B group play on Monday.

Staley has been involved in numerous Olympic-related events since Friday, including joining First Lady Jill Biden in the opening ceremony. She also appeared on NBC with studio host Mike Tirico during the U.S. men's basketball team's game on Sunday.

Staley herself played in three Olympics in 1996, 2000 and 2004, and was the U.S. flag bearer at the 2004 Olympics in Greece. She coached the national team in Tokyo and now serves as a member of the selection committee for USA women's basketball.

A'ja Wilson 2024 WNBA stats, career timeline

Wilson is in her seventh year in the WNBA after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2018 WNBA draft by the Aces. At South Carolina, Wilson brought home the program's first national title in 2017 and left Columbia one of the school's most decorated athletes.

She has been producing career numbers in the WNBA so far this season and is currently the WNBA's leading scorer, averaging 27.2 points per game. On July 8, she became the Las Vegas Aces' all-time leading scorer, when she passed Sophia Young-Malcolm's total of 4,300.

On July 20, Wilson played in her sixth WNBA All-Star game. She scored 22 points, shot 8-for-13 and had six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

RECAP: WNBA star A'ja Wilson's midseason recap including Nike shoe, 20 rebounds and All-Star game

The next game for Wilson and Team USA is on Thursday vs Belgium at 3 p.m. ET (USA Network, Peacock).

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: How many points did A'ja Wilson score for Team USA vs Japan?