Australia muster a huge final quarter to beat China 75-60; USA up next – Olympics Women Basketball Recap
The Australian women basketball team ended China’s dream run here at the London Olympics with a 75-60 win in the 2nd quarter final of the night. With the win, the Aussies earned a spot for themselves in the Semi Finals,
where they will take on the mighty Americans.
The Chinese side made a game of the fixture, testing the Australian side for three quarters and pushing them to the limit. However, the Aussies put up a valiant effort in the final period to outscore the Chinese 20-8 and take a
comfortable victory in the end.
Liz Cambage had another great night for the Aussie team, finishing with a game high 17 points and 7 rebounds. Cambage went 7 of 11 from the field and a perfect 3 of 3 from the foul line as she guided her team to victory. Lauren
Jackson also had double figures for the night, finishing with 12 points and 4 rebounds.
Zengyu Ma was the pick of the Chinese players, leading her team in points with 15 for the night to go with 5 rebounds as she went 6 of 11 from the field. Lijie Miao was the only other Chinese player in double digits, finishing
with 13 points as she attempted to take the team to the Semi Finals.
The Chinese gave the Aussies a run for their money to open the game, fighting for the lead in the opening minutes. Xiaoyun Song scored a two point shot to give the Chinese lead for the first time in the game with 6:08 left in the
period. Australia retook the lead when they went on a 6-0 run to run away to a 20-14 margin, and finished with a 22-16 lead to close the period.
The second period belonged to the Chinese as they outscored Australia 20-13 to make the game interesting. Jackson opened the scoring for the period with a three pointer to extend the Aussie lead to 25-16, but China responded with
a 7-0 run to cut into the deficit at 23-25.
Fan Zhang tied the game at 29 when she scored a two point shot with 1:56 left in the period. A three pointer by Song gave the Chinese a 34-33 lead, and Xiaoli Chen scored two more points as China went into the halftime break having
the psychological edge of a 36-35 lead.
The third period witnessed both teams fighting hard for the lead; with China taking a 50-47 lead after two free throws by Miao.
Jenna O’Hea replied with 6 straight points, giving Australia a 55-50 lead with seconds left in the period. Ma was able to score a two point shot before the quarter finished leaving China trailing by just 52-55 at the end of the
third quarter.
The mood of the game was about to change in the fourth period, as Australia came out charging and held on to the momentum. The Aussies staged an 8-0 run early in the period to run away to a 67-57 lead, and a two point shot by Cambage
extended the led to 73-60 with 2:06 remaining in the game.
China were unable to score in the last 2:27 of the game as the Aussies took a comfortable 75-60 victory in the end.
The Aussies went a perfect 13 of 13 from the foul line, but were 2 of 9 from three point range. They had a 44-33 advantage in rebounds and a 11-3 advantage in steals.
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