At the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, the Olympic tournament was expanded to twelve teams, making an easier path for Australia to qualify. Captained by Robyn Maher, the Opals started off with strong wins over South Korea, Zaire, and Cuba before losing to eventual gold medalist USA and Ukraine. Australia then persevered through an overtime game against Russia to set up a semi-finals match against the United States. The US won the game 93–71, sending the Opals to a rematch against the Ukraine for the bronze medal. Australia held back a second half comeback by the Ukraine to win the game 66–56, earning Australia its first ever international basketball medal for either men or women.