The U.S. women’s basketball team reinforced its claim to be the most dominant team in Olympic history on Sunday afternoon, surviving a nail-biting final against France 67-66 to win its eighth consecutive gold medal in the closing event of the Paris Games.

In a thrilling game played in front of a boisterous Bercy Arena crowd that cheered loudly for every French basket, the Americans trailed by double digits in the third quarter but fought back to extend their record of 61 consecutive wins in Olympic competition set in 1992. In doing so, the U.S. women set the record for the longest Olympic gold medal streak in a traditional team sport, surpassing the previous record held by the U.S. men’s national basketball team, which won seven in a row from 1936 to 1968.

A’ja Wilson scored 21 points, the most of the game, in a game that was only decided when Gabby Williams’ last-second basket, off a cross-court pass from Marine Johannes, landed just inside the three-point line, costing France the chance to take the game to overtime by inches. That France came within that distance is remarkable enough considering that only two teams were able to keep the gap within single digits during the U.S. team’s record winning streak.

“We just hung in there and did what we had to do,” Wilson said. “We kept going, basket after basket. That’s great basketball and that’s what people want to see. Our defense kind of settled in and we got stops and started to feel it together.”

The U.S.-France clash was a rematch of the gold medal game at the 2012 London Olympics, which the Americans won by 36 points – the largest margin ever recorded in an Olympic basketball final. This time, it was a little closer.

For all its firepower, the U.S. team entered the gold medal game without having played a full 40-minute game all tournament. That pattern continued on Sunday, with the U.S. hitting just 2 of 12 (17%) three-point shots and finishing with 19 turnovers. The Americans were particularly sloppy with possession during a low-scoring first half that ended in a 25-25 tie.

When France scored 10 unanswered points to take a 35-25 lead early in the third quarter, the already boisterous Bercy Arena erupted in a roar. But the Americans, thanks to Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart and super substitute Sabrina Ionescu, caught up almost immediately and took a 41-40 lead with a layup from 18 meters after a beautiful pass from Ionescu.

While LeBron James sat courtside with the gold medal he won in the same building on Saturday night, France were not done. They took a 51-49 lead with 5:31 left to bring the crowd back into the game, but were doomed by a series of critical errors down the stretch, including a missed three-point attempt by Williams when France was trailing 62-59 with 54 seconds left.

With this victory, Diana Taurasi won her sixth Olympic gold medal, the most gold medals ever won by an individual in a team sport, while Plum and Jackie Young became the first players to win Olympic gold in both 3×3 and 5×5 basketball.

The U.S. women have won eight consecutive Olympic gold medals and six of the last seven World Championships. Their only loss during that time at an Olympic or World Championship was the 2006 World Championship semifinal against Russia.

Sunday’s match capped a weekend in which France and the United States played for gold medals in both the men’s and women’s events – the first time this has happened in Olympic history.