RIO DE JANEIRO — Diana Taurasi and her U.S. teammates knew they’d be in for a test against Serbia.

The end result was another blowout victory, but the Americans couldn’t put it on cruise control like they had in their first two wins.

Taurasi scored 22 of her Olympic-best 25 points in the first half to help the U.S. beat Serbia 110-84 on Wednesday and advance to the quarterfinals.

The U.S. had easily routed Senegal and Spain in its first two games, winning by an average of 52.5 points, they had a harder time against the hot-shooting Balkan nation.

“We knew it was going to be tough. We played them in Turkey in 2014 and it was our toughest game at the world championship,” Taurasi said. “They are the European champions for a reason.”

Serbia came out shooting well from behind the arc and led 17-16 — the latest the Americans have trailed in the Olympics — before Taurasi took over. She scored nine points, including two 3-pointers, during a 15-4 run to close the opening period.

“Usually Diana doesn’t assert herself like she has the first three games,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Usually waiting for the game to come to her, get everybody else involved. These first three games of the tournament she’s come out and taken over right from the beginning.”

Taurasi is averaging 17.7 points, her highest ever in the four Olympics she’s played in.

Breanna Stewart added 17 points and Tina Charles finished with 15 after getting going in the second quarter to help the U.S. extend the advantage to 22 at the half. Taurasi had five 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, equaling her Olympic team record. She broke the mark early in the third quarter and finished the game with six 3s to set a new U.S. Olympic mark.

“Caroline Williams, first-team PR, told me that going into halftime that I needed one, so I shot it,” Taurasi said. “If I wasn’t open I probably wouldn’t have shot it.”