Russia take down Brazil 69-59 – London Olympics Women Basketball Recap
On Monday night, the Russians defeated a strong Brazilian side in the women basketball tournament at the 2012 London Olympics.
The Russians put up a strong 4th quarter effort to escape with the victory, after a good contest between the two sides.
Evgeniya Belyakova scored a team high 14 points, going 5 of 11 from the field to lead the Russians. Erika Souza put up a valiant effort for the Brazilian side, scoring a game high 15 points and game high 18 rebounds. However, even
her double-double was not enough to better the Russians.
The Russians quickly raced to a 14-5 lead in the first period, as the Brazilians struggled with the ball handling to open the game and committed 5 turnovers within the first 6 minutes. They woke up near the end of the period to
score 6 straight points and reduce the Russian lead to only 1. After Belyakova scored a three pointer to put Russia back up by four, Joice Rodrigues scored a three pointer with 10 seconds left in the quarter to have Brazil trailing 18-19 at the end of the
first period.
Russia once again controlled much of the 2nd period, leading by as many as 9 points. Brazil scored the final four points of the period to go into the half time break trailing 26-31.
The Brazilians then opened the second half with a quick 6-0 run to take a 32-31 lead. The rest of the quarter saw both teams fighting to take the lead, none being able to control the game. The Russians managed to score the last
three points of the quarter and were up 49-43 heading into the final period.
After Russia opened the scoring in the 4th quarter to extend their lead to 8, the Brazilians scored 6 quick points, capped off by a clutch three pointer by Karla Costa to reduce the deficit to 51-49.
The Russians however seemed to have all the answers to the Brazilian offense on the night and quickly compiled an 11-4 run that extended their lead to 62-53 with 3:30 left in the game and essentially sealed the game. Souza scored
4 points in the final minute for Brazil but it was too little too late as the Russians cruised to a 69-59 victory.
Irina Osipova finished with 13 points for Russia, including a 7 of 10 shooting effort from the foul line. Marina Kuzina added 11 points for the Russians. Costa scored 11 points for Brazil.
Both teams were quite evenly matched in almost all the categories, with the Russians having a 7 point edge in free throws. The Russians also shot better from three point range, going 7 of 17 as compared to 4 of 13 for Brazil. The
win puts Russia in 2nd place in Group B behind France.
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