Russia squeak past Great Britain to stay unbeaten – London Olympics Women Basketball Recap
The Russian women basketball team continued with their winning form at the London Olympics by defeating Great Britain 67-61 in a closely fought contest.
The British team lost its third straight game in front of home crowd, and their Olympic campaign is all but over. Russia outscored Britain 23-13 in the second quarter to take a comfortable lead into the 2nd half, and rode on it through the rest of the match to come out with the victory.
Evgeniya Belyakova scored 12 points and 6 rebounds for Russia, leading her team in scoring. Marina Kuzina added 10 points and 2 rebounds in a team effort by the Russian side.
Natalie Stafford finished with a game high 18 points for Britain, while Jo Leedham also had a good night finishing with 14 points. However, the rest of the British team failed to make an impact and lost to a more balanced Russian attack.
The Brits came out on attack mode to open the game, and raced to a 12-2 lead in the early goings. Russia started the game going 1 of 10 from the field, allowing Britain to race away.
But the tables soon turned, as the Russians went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 12 with a little over a minute left in the period. Russia then scored 4 points in the final 30 seconds of the quarter to take a 16-14 lead at the end of the 1st period.
The second quarter completely belonged to the Russians, as they regained their rhythm and shot well from the field. Belyakova and Becky Hammon scored back to back three pointers to put Russia up 28-22. Belyakova then scored 2 more three point shots and Kuzina closed the period with another 3 point shot as Russia took a 39-27 lead into the second half.
Britain chased Russia throughout the third period, in an attempt to close in on them and reduce the deficit to a manageable number. A two point shot by Rose Anderson brought Britain within 5 of the Russians with a little over 2 minutes left in the period.
However, the Russians ensured they did not allow Britain to regain control of the game. They led by 52-45 heading into the final quarter.
Russia oversaw a brief scare in the final period when the British team narrowed the deficit to 58-61 with less than a minute left in regulation. But, 5 straight points by Ilona Korstin secured a 67-61 victory for her team.
Russia shot 42.4% from the field while the British went 31.1% in contrast. Britain shot better from the foul line, going 11 of 13 compared with 8 of 15 for Russia. However, the Russians had a 52-41 advantage in rebounds as they dominated the boards on both ends of the court.
Tags: