PARIS, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) — Belgium crushed Spain 79-66 on Wednesday to set up a semifinal against Australia in the women’s basketball competition at Paris 2024.
After an even first quarter, Belgium broke out from the last tie on 30-30 to take the control of the match, gradually enlarging the gap to lead as many as 22 points.
Spain fought back to close in at 71-60 in the fourth quarter, but their efforts failed to pay off as Belgium regained control and pulled away again.
This is the first time for Belgium to qualify for the semifinals at an Olympics, after they finished seventh at Tokyo 2020 on their maiden Olympic appearance. Emma Meesseman and Kyara Linskens each scored 19 points for Belgium.
In another quarterfinal, Alanna Smith collected 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Jade Melbourne and Cayla George scored 18 points each to help Australia beat Serbia 85-67.
Australia had led 72-48 at the end of the third quarter, turning the fourth quarter into garbage time when Serbia managed to claw back some of their deficit.
After a rollercoaster group stage when they grabbed the quarterfinal berth at the last moment by beating France 79-72 on Sunday, former world champions Australia needed the victory to remain in medal contention.
The other semifinal will be between the United States, who thrashed Nigeria 88-74, and France, who disposed of Germany 84-71.
France made 14 steals and forced 20 turnovers from their talented but inexperienced opponents, which were crucial for the victory.
France took the first double-digit lead at 29-19 after a 13-2 run, and maintained the advantage of 45-33 in the first half.
Marine Johannes, nicknamed Stephanie Curry for her game’s resemblance to America’s Steph Curry, scored 24 points, including five 3-pointers, to keep France ahead by a big margin during the rest of the game. The whole France team shot 11-of-27 from behind the arc.
The defending champions U.S. are on their way to an eighth straight gold medal and are still waiting for a real challenge so far in the tournament. A’ja Wilson had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the U.S. scoresheet against Nigeria.
