Dumerc leads France to a 80-77 victory over Britain in an overtime thriller – Olympics Women Basketball Recap
The French women basketball team edged past Great Britain in an overtime thriller at the London Olympics here on Friday night.
France scored three more points than Britain in overtime, helping them clinch an 80-77 victory, their fourth in four games here at the Olympics. Britain fought hard in a bid to clinch their first win of the tournament, but were unable to close the game after matching the French side for 40 minutes of regulation play.
Sandrine Gruda scored 16 points and 7 rebounds for the French side, going 7 of 11 from the field. Edwige Lawson-Wade scored 16 points, going 5 of 11 from the field and a perfect 5 of 5 from the free throw line. Jo Leedham was the star of the night, scoring 29 points and 8 rebounds as she led the British fight back. Leedham went 10 of 25 from the field and a perfect 8 of 8 from the foul line, but her efforts were not enough to prevent a French victory.
Both teams fought hard for the lead in the first period, and the scores were tied at 8 with 3:10 left in the quarter when Isabelle Yacoubou scored a two point shot. Britain came back with a three pointer by Rose Anderson and led 13-10 at the end of the period. France grabbed the lead for the first time in the second period through a two point shot by Gruda, and led 27-23 at halftime.
Leedham tied the game at 36 in the third period with two successful free throws, but France responded with four straight points. Leedham again tied the game at 42 with a two point shot as she carried the team on her shoulders.
Two free throws by Lawson-Wade in the final seconds of the quarter gave France a 47-44 lead. Leedham’s two pointer cut the deficit to 1 with 4:46 left in regulation, and Kim Butler scored a two pointer after that to give Britain a 54-53 lead with 3:35 left on the clock.
Yacoubou’s free throw however tied the game one more time at 56. The Brits turned up the intensity in the following passage and Butler’s two successful free throws with 10 seconds left in regulation, gave Britain a 67-64 lead. However Celine Dumerc hit a clutch three pointer to tie the game and send it into overtime.
Leedham scored a three pointer early on in O.T to give Britain a 70-69 lead, but Florence Lepron answered immediately with a three pointer for France to give them a 72-70 lead. With the game tied at 77 and less than 10 seconds left in overtime, Dumerc became the hero of the night when she sank another three pointer to give France an 80-77 victory.
She finished with 14 points, going 6 of 7 from the field and was the star of the game, scoring two crucial three pointers to win the game for France. Yacoubou finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds, going 6 of 8 from the field.
For Britain, Natalie Stafford scored 18 points and 4 rebounds while Kim Butler added 12 points and 6 rebounds, going 5 of 9 from the field.
France shot 47.8% from the field, much better compared to 34.7% for Britain. The British team were spot on with their free throws, going 21 of 22 from the foul line. Both teams were evenly matched over the duration of the game, and France only stole the victory with the heroics of Dumerc. They now top Group B with 8 points from 4 games while Britain are still to win their first game of the London Olympics.
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