MILAN, Italy — Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea said they were thrilled to defy expectations and deliver a clean, season-best pairs performance at the Winter Olympics on Sunday, a result that proved pivotal as the United States edged Japan to win a second straight gold in the team event.

Kam and O’Shea scored 135.36 points to earn seven points for Team USA in the pairs segment, and their fourth-place finish preserved a slim cushion over Japan in a nerve-jangling final day of competition.

Because of their performance, the United States carried a two-point lead into the women’s free skate, where Amber Glenn struggled and placed third, leaving the U.S. tied with Japan entering the men’s free skate finale.

“Quad God” Ilia Malinin then delivered to secure the decisive point and clinch the title for the Americans.

“Honestly, we were just ready to come out and perform,” O’Shea told Reuters on Monday.

“We walked into the rink with a great attitude. We were ready to go and felt like it was going to go well from the moment we stepped in,” he said.

While Malinin is the overwhelming favorite for the men’s gold, and Glenn and Alysa Liu are contenders on the women’s side, Kam and O’Shea are carrying somewhat lower expectations going into the pairs event in Milan.

“We’re grateful to have gone out there and performed well for our team and gotten an extra point that might not have been expected of us,” he added.

“Then we saw everybody doing their best, and Ilia brought it home. It was awesome.”

The performance was also redemption for the 21-year-old Kam and 34-year-old O’Shea, who had a fall during their short program in the team competition two days earlier.

Kam, who was seen shedding tears of joy on the podium during the U.S. national anthem, said the moment reflected years of effort to deliver under pressure on the sport’s biggest stage.

“I feel like Danny and I have worked so hard to get to this moment and show what we are capable of,” she said.

“We’ve been kind of clawing our way there and to be able to put out a performance that we’re proud of on one of the biggest stages means so much.”

“And hearing the anthem feels so solid,” Kam added.

“It’s like, we did that, that is playing for us. We represented our country well and made everybody proud.”

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

Graham Ike sounded like he was discussing something out of “Game of Thrones.”

Perhaps after yielding a saber and smiting a foe.

“Who shies away from the contact? If you do, you’ll be eaten,” the Gonzaga big man said. “It’s like sharks smelling blood in the water, you can sniff that out. You’ve just got to battle back, iron sharpens iron.”

Ike did just that Saturday, matching a career high with 35 points as the No. 12 Bulldogs vanquished host Oregon State 81-61 to bounce back from an upset loss at Portland three days earlier. That loss dropped the Bulldogs from their No. 6 ranking.

Gonzaga (23-2, 11-1 West Coast Conference) will return to their home den to face Washington State (11-15, 6-7) on Tuesday in Spokane, Wash.

Ike, who had guaranteed the Bulldogs wouldn’t repeat their 87-80 loss to the Pilots, almost single-handedly made sure it didn’t happen.

He played all but the final minute Saturday, shot 13 of 18 from the field, 8 of 9 from the free-throw line and made his only 3-point attempt. He also had seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, one blocked shot and drew nine of the 17 fouls Oregon State committed, including two on one possession.

“I liked every single matchup that was on me, on the guards, on the wings,” Ike said. “I thought we could exploit the mismatches in a lot of different areas and we did. … Shout out to the guys honestly for their relentless effort all 40 minutes, every single guy. We couldn’t do it without 1-15 and the coaching staff, included. Great plan, great execution.”

Ike lamented a second-half turnover that prevented the Bulldogs from breaking a program record. They tied the mark by giving the ball away just twice.

“I wish I could’ve taken my one turnover away,” he said. “We took great care of the ball.”

Tyon Grant-Foster came off the bench to add 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs, who have struggled with secondary scoring while forward/center Braden Huff has missed the past seven games with a knee injury.

Gonzaga’s defense was markedly improved Saturday. They limited the Beavers to 44.2% shooting from the field (19 of 43) after Portland shot 59.3% (32 of 54).

Gonzaga coach Mark Few still hasn’t quite gotten over the latter number.

“It’s hard to find any consistency on the defensive end, let’s start with that,” Few said. “If everybody just does their jobs and bring what they bring, we’ve been pretty darn good this year. When they deviate from that and not bring what they’re supposed to bring, then it really exposes us.”

The Bulldogs defeated Washington State 86-65 on Jan. 15 in Pullman, Wash., in their first game without Huff. Ike led the way with 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting, 11 rebounds and five assists.

The Cougars are coming off a 96-92 loss Saturday to visiting Santa Clara, which has a half-game lead on Gonzaga atop the WCC standings.

“We have got to get over the top. We have got to start winning these games,” Washington State coach David Riley said. “Giving up 96 points at home is too much.”

Eemeli Yalaho led the Cougars with 21 points and Ace Glass added 20.

“We have got to take care of the little stuff. Then just finishing plays,” Yalaho said.

Santa Clara outscored the Cougars 21-11 over the opening 7:15 of the second half to pull away from a 49-all tie and WSU couldn’t quite catch up.

“We have got to lock in on both sides and play a full 40 minutes,” Glass said. “I feel like we have played a lot of 30, 35-minute games.”

–Field Level Media

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — American curler Korey Dropkin’s animated displays of emotion have been electrifying fans throughout the mixed doubles competition at the Milan Cortina Games, with the 30-year-old saying he is just trying to have fun and be true to himself.

On Monday, Dropkin and doubles partner Cory Thiesse beat Olympic and world champions Italy 9-8 in the semi-finals, with Dropkin screaming in excitement, embracing his teammate and waving to fans at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.

The victory set up a gold-medal showdown against Sweden and guaranteed the U.S. their first Olympic medal in mixed doubles curling.

Asked about showing his emotions during the tournament, a hoarse Dropkin told reporters: “It’s just me trying to be myself and live my dream, our dream on the ice. You don’t really get these opportunities every day, right? It’s every four years.

“Some people only get the opportunity to dream of it and we’re out there on the ice living it. So for me, win or lose throughout this event, it’s always just been about having fun, being loose, being myself and spinning on the ice, doing those little things, that’s me.

“That’s me, that’s childhood Korey that always had fun, got up, swept his own rocks, did some spins and twirls on the way back to the hack as he threw another stone and I don’t want to lose that feeling.”

Dropkin made comparisons with athletes in other sports when asked if his emotional approach aligned with the typically restrained sport.

“You don’t see football players, basketball players, baseball players always hiding their emotions,” he said.

“The TV’s always on them. You know when they’re pissed off and you know when they’re having a good time. Why not curlers too?”

For Thiesse, the win carried special significance as she became the first American woman to win an Olympic curling medal, though the men’s team has claimed gold and bronze in previous Games.

“I’m just so proud of the week that we’ve had. And I know how important it was for me to have people to look up to when I was growing up,” the 31-year-old said.

“I just hope that I can be kind of an inspiration for young girls in curling and any sport in the U.S. to just dream big and work hard to achieve your goals.”

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media