Australia close out Canada 72-63 to finish second in Group B - London Olympics Women Basketball Recap
The Australian women basketball team managed to get past the Canadian team 72-63 to ensure second place in Group B and a place in the quarter finals. Canada wrapped up proceedings of the group by qualifying for the fourth and final
position but now facing the daunting task of facing the undefeated Team USA in the knock-out stages.
It took only three players for Australia in double scoring figure to ensure victory against Canada. Liz Cambage led the way with 19 points and 4 blocks, Lauren Jackson had 18 points and 9 boards while Belinda Snell scored 12 points.
On the other hand, only one player for Canada managed to cross the double figure mark in the game. Kimberley Smith shot the ball 5 of 7 from the field to finish with 17 points while Teresa Gabriele and Shona Thorburn chipped in
with 9 points each.
Both sides were evenly matched in almost every aspect of the game and in the end a 6-1 block advantage and 5 more assists were the game changer. Australia held a slight edge in the rebounding department 36-34 as well and dished
out a total of 17 assists in the game.
The nation ranked number 2 in the FIBA ranking will however have to address their conversion rate as they only shot the ball 38.6% from the field in comparison to Canada’s shooting percentage of 39.7%. However the Canadians dug
themselves into a hole by turning the ball on 23 different occasions, 4 more than the Aussies.
Australia came out gunning to start the proceedings as they raced out to a 15-3 lead. They went to on to dominate the first quarter closing it at 24-10. A 9-4 run to start the second quarter saw Australia take a 33-14 lead in the
ball game. They were able to retain a comfortable advantage for the rest of the first half and headed into the break leading 35-22.
Canada came out strong at the start the second half and a 22-10 scoring run saw them cut the lead down to only 3 points with 33 seconds remaining in the third period. However two free throws from Rachel Jarry saw Australia take
a 47-42 advantage into the final quarter.
Things returned to usual in the fourth frame as the Australians started off with 4 unanswered points and quickly got their lead back into double figures. Even though Canada were able to stay close with 21 points in the period but
the 25 points in response from Australia, meant a 9 point loss for them.
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