Turkey hand a 72-50 thrashing to Angola – Olympics Women Basketball Recap
The formidable Turkish women basketball side made their presence known on the first day of competition at the 2012 London Olympics, with a crushing 72-50 victory over Angola.
The Turks dominated the first period, where they outscored the Angolan side 21-8, and then maintained the lead through the rest of the game to cruise to an easy victory. Tugba Palazoglu scored a game high 13 points, as she went
3 of 3 from the three point range and 5 of 8 overall from the field.
She was ably assisted by Quanitra Hollingsworth and Saziye Ivegin, who both finished with 10 points for the night. Bahar Caglar had an amazing outing for the Turkish side as well, scoring 11 points and grabbing 7 rebounds while
going a perfect 5 of 5 from the field.
Nassecela Mauricio was the only Angolan player to make any impact in the game, scoring 11 points while going 4 of 8 from the field.
Turkey started off with a demolishing 13-0 run and did not allow the Angolan side to score a field goal till the 3:35 mark in the first period. They continued the offensive onslaught throughout the quarter, closing the period with
a 21-8 lead over the Angolan side and nearly taking the game away from them.
The Angolan side made some headway in the 2nd period, where they outscored the Turkish team 17-14. However, it was not enough to cover up for the huge deficit they were faced with after a dismal showing in the first
period. The Angolan side still trailed 25-35 at half time.
Turkey was back to its dominating self in the third period, opening the quarter with a 7-0 run that stretched their lead to 42-25. By that time, the fate of the game was almost certain as the Angolans failed to take the lead throughout
the game. Turkey led 58-39 at the end of the third period as they outscored the Angolan team once again, this time by 9 points.
Both teams failed to connect on a field goal attempt for the first two minutes of the final quarter after which Yasemin Dalgalar scored a three pointer to open the scoring for the Turkish. Her shot from the distance put Turkey
up 61-39. A two point shot by Dalgalar a few minutes later put Turkey up 67-44 with 5:17 left in the game, and sealed the deal for the Angolans. Turkey went on to win 72-50 and cement their place as the team to beat this year.
The Turkish side shot 45.2% from the field and 50% from the distance. In contrast, the Angolan side managed to go 34.5% from the field and a meagre 3 of 15 from three point range.
In addition to this, the Turkish team also had a 43-27 advantage in rebounds, and a 23-5 advantage in assists. There was no area of the game in which the Turkish team did not dominate, leading to an impressive showing in their
campaign opener. Despite the victory, Turkey are placed 2nd in Group A as team USA also won their opening game against Croatia to take the top spot.
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