France come from behind to stun Czech Republic 71-68 – First Half Breakdown: Olympics Women Basketball
In what was arguably the best game of the tournament so far, the French women basketball team recorded a huge come back to win 71-68 against the Czech Republic on Tuesday night here at the London Olympics arena.
France, who were the odds on favourites going into the game, landed in the tough situation after an Eva Viteckova led Czech side took a 13 point lead and were leading by 10 going into the final frame. However, a super effort in
the last ten minutes saved the game for the French women.
France came out racing with a 4-0 burst to start the match and went to on to take a 10-4 lead at one point. Céline Dumerc and Emilie Gomis got into the act very quickly as both players opened their scoring accounts early in the
game.
With 2:08 remaining in the first period, the French had managed their way to a 16-7 advantage. But with a semifinal spot on the line, the Czechs weren’t just going to fade away though. They scored the last 5 points of the first
quarter to make the score 16-12.
With the momentum on their side, the Czechs came out strongly in the second quarter, starting with a 6-0 run to take their first lead in the ball game. The French responded back with a 4-0 run to snatch the lead right back but
a deuce from Ilona Burgrova saw the Czech’s level up the proceedings with 5:58 remaining in the first half.
The Czechs continued to mount pressure on the French defense in the ensuing passage and with 0:56 left in the period, they had established a 5 point lead. In the final seconds of the first half though, it was France’s turn to close
out with a strong finish.
In the last 41 seconds, Dumerc added a deuce while Gomis connected from long range for to even up the proceedings of the match at 28 apiece. Gomis paced France with 9 points till the interval; Dumerc had 6 while Burgrova led Croatia
with 6 points.
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