Turkey hand China a 82-55 thrashing to open up Group A – London Olympics Women Basketball Recap
The Turkish women basketball team surprisingly thrashed China in a group A fixture here at the London Olympics on Friday evening. Turkey handed the Chinese their first loss of the Olympics in four games, defeating them 82-55 to rise to 2nd position in Group A with the same number of points as top placed China. The Turkish side dominated the first and fourth quarters to cruise to a comfortable victory.
Nevriye Yilmaz led five Turkish players in double digit points with 16 points and 8 rebounds for the night. Esmeral Tuncluer scored 12 points and 4 assists, going 5 of 8 from the field as Turkey dominated the game.
Nan Chen was the only Chinese player in double digits points for the night, scoring 19 points and adding 8 rebounds as she put up a valiant effort on behalf of her team.
China put up a solid performance to open the game and trailed 12-11 with 3:59 left in the first period. But Turkey exploded on the offense after that and went on a 14-2 run to end the first period leading by 26-13. Turkey went 5 of 8 from the field during the run, whereas China went 1 of 7 in the same period.
Turkey added insult to injury when they opened the second period with an 8-2 run which included back to back three pointers by Tuncluer and Saziye Ivegin to take a 34-15 lead. China attempted a comeback by going on a 9-0 burst but the Turkish side still had a 39-27 lead at halftime.
Both sides matched each other’s offense in the third period, with Turkey successfully defending their lead and not allowing the Chinese to dig into it too much. The Europeans held a comfortable double digit lead for all of the third period as the Chinese side failed to make that one incisive run which would cut the deficit. Turkey led 59-43 going into the final period.
The Turks then ensured the victory when they outscored China 23-12 in the final period. The Chinese did not cause any trouble throughout the last quarter, as Turkey nailed point after point and extended their lead to a comfortable one, thrashing China by a 27 point margin in the end.
Kuanitra Holingsvorth finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, going 5 of 7 from the field. Isil Alben scored 11 points and 5 assists, going 4 of 8 from the floor. Bahar Caglar added 11 points and 2 rebounds as the Turkish side put up a formidable offensive assault.
Zengyu Ma was the second highest scorer on the Chinese side with 7 points and 8 rebounds.
China went 42.6% from the field and a dismal 1 of 10 from the distance. Ivegin alone was 1 of 8 from three point range. Turkey shot 48.6% from the field and was a meagre 6 of 21 from the distance.
Turkey outdid China with a 25-12 advantage in assists, and a 12-1 advantage in steals. China committed 20 turnovers for the game while the Turks lost the ball only 8 times. The victory opens up Group A with 4th place Croatia still having a chance of making it into the next round.
Tags: