LONDON – The U.S. women’s basketball team looked nothing like the squad that is expected to dominate the Olympics.

Maybe it was first-game nerves or a hangover from the opening ceremonies. The U.S. had to overcome a sloppy performance Saturday before finally putting away Croatia 81-56 in the opener.

Coach Geno Auriemma had said he was hoping the Americans could play a style of basketball that would be entertaining and help grow the women’s game internationally. That didn’t happen Saturday.

“We have five players who have never been in the Olympics before so they are going to be nervous. Everybody was a little nervous,” Auriemma said. “We’re better than we showed, but I don’t know that we’re going to be great right off the bat.”

The U.S. struggled for the first three quarters before winning its 34th consecutive Olympic contest.

“There was a little jitters, probably a little sluggishness,” U.S. guard Sue Bird said. “For the most part we didn’t finish off plays we normally finish off. We allowed a team that when they get going are known to spread out the floor and try to hit as many 3s as they can, stay with us.”

The victory was far different than the 54-point pounding the Americans gave Croatia a week earlier.

Despite missing its first 14 shots, Croatia hung tough for the first 30 minutes before the Americans finally pulled away.

The U.S., which has dominated its opponents en route to the last four gold medals, only led 53-49 early in the fourth quarter before a 16-0 run put the game out of reach.

“Bottom line is this is the Olympics,” Bird said. “A win is a win, regardless of how it works. Beauty is you can learn from it. Now we know what we need to work on.”

Angel McCoughtry started the burst with consecutive layups and Tamika Catchings capped it with a three-point play that made it 69-49.