The United States continued to roll in the 2016 Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, dominating Spain, 103-63. Canada overcame an 18-point hole to beat Serbia, 71-67 and tie USA on top of the Group B standings. Asian squads Japan and China both tallied wins as well in the third day of competition.
Here is the August 8 round-up of the 2016 Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
UNITED STATES 103, SPAIN 63
The United States once again used a strong start to take control of the match and pull away to pick up its second straight win in the tournament.
Spain had no answers for Brittney Griner, who had eight points in the first quarter alone as the reigning gold medal winners took a 29-15 lead after the opening period.
Spain did make it more competitive in the second quarter, scoring 23 points, but they were limited to only four points in the first half of the third quarter as USA pulled away.
USA outscored Spain, 49-26 in the second half. USA shot 54.7 percent from the field and held a commanding 56-20 lead in points in the paint.
Diana Taurasi led Geno Auriemma's team for a second consecutive night, scoring 13 points including 3-for-7 from three-point area. Sylvia Fowles added 12 points on 5-for-6 field goal shooting. Elena Delle Donne also finished with 12 points. All players scored for the team, save for Tamika Catchings who logged just 8:37.
Alba Torrens led Spain with 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting. First-time Olympian Leticia Romero, who saw her first minutes in the tournament, finished with nine points, five rebounds, and two assists. Astou Ndour contributed 13 points and eight boards.
CANADA 71, SERBIA 67
Kia Nurse, who finished with only five points in Canada's win over China, dropped 25 points as her team overcame an 18-point deficit to beat Serbia and tie USA on top of the Group B standings with a 2-0 record.
Canada actually took an 8-1 lead in the early goings as Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe and Miranda Ayim both scored two baskets, but Serbia was quick to bounce back, even taking a 21-18 lead late in the first quarter.
Serbia took a 40-32 lead into the halftime break, before opening the third quarter on a 12-2 run which included triples from Sasa Cado and Jelena Milovanovic as the team held a 52-34 lead.
Nurse then captured fire, scoring 13 of the next 15 points for Canada, as the team pulled within 57-51 early in the final period.
Serbia had a five-minute drought before Ana Dabovic scored the team's first field goal in the fourth quarter, giving the EuroBasket winners a 59-56 lead.
Teams went back and forth after that point, with Dabovic's two free throws pushing Serbia ahead, 67-65. Raincock-Ekunwe answered with a three-point play to make it 68-67 for Canada under the final minute.
Canada then forced a turnover, which led to a dagger triple from Miah-Marie Langlois which sealed the dramatic comeback for the squad.
Nurse shot 7-for-11 from the field and hit 3-for-4 from long range. She also made 8-for-10 from the foul line. Ayim, Kim Gaucher, and Nirra Fields each had eight points.
Milovanovic led Serbia, which fell to 0-2, with 19 points, three rebounds, and two steals. Sonja Petrovic added 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Dabovic tallied 14 points.
JAPAN 82, BRAZIL 66
The FIBA Asia Championship winners are for real. After edging Belarus, Japan scored an impressive win over the home team to remain perfect in Group A.
Ramu Tokashiki had 23 points and nine rebounds to lead Japan, which tied Australia and France with 2-0 cards in the group.
Mika Kurihara added 12 points, all from three-point area, eight rebounds, and two assists. Maki Takada also had 12 points while Asami Yoshida tallied a double-double of 11 points and 11 assists.
Japan outscored Brazil, 54-32, in the middle quarters to break the game wide open. Japan led by as much as 27 points in the game, shot close to 60 percent from inside the arc, and had a 15-4 lead in fastbreak points.
Iziane Castro once again led the home side with 20 points on 50 percent shooting. Damiris Dantas added 17 points, while Clarissa Dos Santos had 13 points and 16 boards.
CHINA 101, SENEGAL 64
Sun Mengran and Shao Ting each scored 17 points as China scored an easy victory over Senegal.
Up by just 47-38 after the first half, China cruised over the past two quarters, outscoring Senegal, 54-26.
Five players finished in double-digits for China. China shot 9-for-15 from three-point area, and 56.1 percent overall. The team also outrebounded Senegal, 44-29 and had eight more assists, 21-13.
Astou Traore led the AfroBasket winners with 16 points on 50 percent shooting. Mame Marie Sy added 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
TEAM STANDINGS AFTER AUGUST 8:
Group A
Australia 2-0
France 2-0
Japan 2-0
Brazil 0-2
Turkey 0-2
Belarus 0-2
Group B
United States 2-0
Canada 2-0
Spain 1-1
China 1-1
Serbia 0-2
Senegal 0-2
AUGUST 9 SCHEDULE:
Australia vs France
Brazil vs Belarus
Turkey vs Japan
All photos from FIBA.com
Comments
Post a Comment