French Women stage a 4th quarter rout to clinch victory over Brazil – Olympics Women Basketball Recap
The French women basketball team staged an upset here on Saturday when they defeated Brazil in a late comeback in their first game of the 2012 London Olympics.
The French team showed nerves and character when they outscored the Brazilian team 21-9 in the final quarter of the game to win 73-58.
Celine Dumerc had an amazing night for the French team, finishing off with a game high 23 points and 5 assists, going an amazing 8 of 10 from the field. Erika Souza was the leading scorer for Brazil, scoring 17 points while going
6 of 12 from the field. Karla Costa added 13 points for the Brazilian side.
The first quarter was closely fought by both teams, with the largest lead coming in the opening minutes when Brazil raced to a 5-0 advantage. From there on, it was a battle between the two teams as both exchanged leads and answered
each other’s offense. Brazil scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 20-16 lead into the second period.
France tied the game at 26 with 5:26 left in the half through a three point shot by Marion Laborde. However, Brazil scored the next seven points to take a 33-26 lead over the French side. France again reduced the lead to 1 by scoring
6 straight points, refusing to let up and preventing Brazil, who looked in good form, from running away with the lead. The scores were tied at 34 at halftime.
The game was tied 3 times in the first three minutes of the third period, after which Brazil picked up a three point lead with a three pointer by Costa. France again replied with 5 straight points to swallow the lead and go 2 up
on the Brazilian side. Both sides battled for the lead throughout the third period, and France led the game 52-49 at the end of the third period, setting up an exciting finish to a closely contested game.
However, the Brazilians ran out of steam in the final quarter of the game and allowed France to run away with the lead. Leading 57-53, the French side went on an 11-0 run that eventually cost Brazil the game. France raced out to
a 68-53 lead with the run, and Brazil brought the deficit back down to 58-68. However, the French denied the Brazilian side any field goal in the final minute and put up 5 points to seal the deal and cruise to a 73-58 victory. After giving the French team
a tough time through three quarters, the Brazilian side failed to connect in the final period and managed only 9 points, while France scored 21.
France shot 50% from the field and 50% from the distance as compared to Brazil, who went 32.8% from the field and 27.3% from the three point line. Apart from that, both teams were quite evenly matched, and the only difference came
in the final period when the Brazilian side failed to score consistently, missing shots to allow France to take the victory.
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