Liz Cambage's monster game propelled Australia past a determined Japan side to remain undefeated in the 2016 Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. France kept Brazil winless, while Turkey boosted its chances of advancing to the next round after edging Belarus.
Here is the August 11 round-up of the 2016 Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
TURKEY 74, BELARUS 71
Turkey improved its chances of entering the quarter-finals of the games after dealing another heartbreaking defeat to Belarus.
Nevriye Yilmaz powered Turkey's come-from-behind victory with 26 points on 50 percent shooting while Lara Sanders added 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting and 11 rebounds.
Needing a win to boost its chances of advancing, Belarus went on a good start, taking a 19-13 lead. Turkey responded, tying the count at 25 apiece but an 8-2 run behind triples from Lindsey Harding and Maryia Papova gave Belarus a 33-27 lead.
Turkey's frontliners, however, brought the team back in the game. A three from Isil Alben followed by free throws from Sanders gave Turkey a sizable 62-54 cushion in the final quarter, but Belarus never surrendered.
A three from Tatyana Troina cut the deficit down to 67-63. Later, back to back conversions by Harding made it 72-71 with just under two minutes left.
Belarus had its chances to retake the lead but Triona missed twice under the final minute. Alben pushed the Turkey lead up to 74-71 with two free throws before Harding missed a long range attempt at the buzzer.
Belarus led for more time than Turkey, but again failed to close out. Belarus lost to Japan by just four and to France by just a point.
Harding led the squad with 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Papova added 11 points while Troina and Anastasiya Verameyenka each had 10 points.
FRANCE 74, BRAZIL 64
Gaelle Skrela had 18 points including four triples while Sandrine Gruda added 17 points and 10 rebounds as France kept the home side winless and stayed in second place in Group A.
France broke loose from a tight game which even saw Brazil took a 29-24 lead after going on an 11-0 run to close the first half. The Les Bleus then padded the lead in the third quarter, with Laetitia Kamba's triple pushing the advantage up to 50-37.
Brazil was never able to recover after that point, as France maintained the double-digit separation until the end of the game.
Isabelle Yacoubou and Endy Miyem each contributed 10 points for France, which is now 3-1 in Group A behind undefeated Australia. France shot 9-for-20 from three-point area, and had 25 bench points.
Damiris Dantas led the home side with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Clarissa Dos Santos added 16 points and 10 boards while Erika De Souza had 12 points. Iziane Castro was limited to only six points on a woeful 1-for-13 shooting from the floor.
AUSTRALIA 92, JAPAN 86
Liz Cambage's monster game helped the Australian Opals survive a gallant stand from Japan and stay perfect in the tournament.
Cambage finished with a tournament-high 37 points on an efficient 16-for-22 shooting, 10 rebounds, and three blocks while Leilani Mitchell contributed 18 points six rebounds, and seven assists as Australia had to overcome as high as a 16-point deficit to beat Japan.
Up by just two entering the second half, Japan outscored Australia 21-11 in the third period to take a sizable 71-59 advantage entering the final quarter.
Back to back threes by Mika Kurihara capped the huge third quarter for Japan, before the Asian champions opened the fourth period with baskets from Ramu Tokashiki and Rui Machida to take a 75-59 lead.
But Australia fought back, with Cambage scoring 12 of the next 19 points for the Opals to help her squad pull within 79-78. Maki Takada ended the drought for Japan to extend the team's lead up to 81-78, but Cambage kept pouring it on.
A triple by Penny Taylor pushed Australia's advantage up to 88-83 under the final minute, although Asami Yoshida answered with a long range shot of her own to make it just a two-point game.
Finally, Cambage sealed the win with another basket even as Tokashiki missed from the other end, leading to two assurance free throws from Marianna Tolo.
Tokashiki led Japan with 23 points and eight boards, while Kurihara had 20 including 6-for-8 from three-point area. Takada and Sanae Motokawa combined for 22 points while Yoshida almost had a double-double again with nine points and 11 dimes.
Taylor chipped in 13 points, six rebounds, and seven assists while Tolo had 10 points and eight boards off the bench.
Teams combined for 14-for-30 from three-point area and both had 27 assists. Australia, though, had a 41-28 lead in rebounding and a 50-42 edge in points in the paint.
STANDINGS AFTER AUGUST 11:
Group A
Australia 4-0
France 3-1
Japan 2-2
Turkey 2-2
Belarus 1-3
Brazil 0-4
Group B
United States 3-0
Canada 3-0
Spain 2-1
China 1-2
Serbia 0-3
Senegal 0-3
AUGUST 12 SCHEDULE:
Serbia vs China
Canada vs United States
Spain vs Senegal
All photos from FIBA.com
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