FRA - Daily review (Day 4)

TOULOUSE/RODEZ (2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) – France held on for dear life to beat Japan, while Belgium ended China’s unbeaten run in Group B, leaving the USA as the last team with a 100 percent record at the end of the fourth day of competition.

France led 64-46 with 6:38 left to play but Japan closed the game with a 21-6 run and might have had a memorable victory to celebrate had time not run out on them.

The win sees the French improve to 2-2 and puts them in fourth place in Group A’s standings, in a position to reach to the last eight.

Arnaud Guppillotte’s charges led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter and pulled away in the second period for a 36-26 advantage at halftime. They pulled away some more with a 7-0 run to start the third period and were up 58-42 to start the final quarter.

The Japanese suddenly clicked and used of their trademark quickness and energy to cut away at the deficit at an impressive rate. They were within three, 70-67, on Moeko Nagaoka’s three-pointer with 33 seconds left to play, but at the other end France got the offensive rebound off a miss by Monny Niamke and ran out the clock.

Earlier in the day, Julie Vanloo exploded for 31 points as Belgium defeated China 90-80.

Emma Meessman and Hanne Mestdagh had seven points each in the opening period as the Belgians took a 21-16 lead.

Vanloo then had 13 points in the second quarter alone as Daniel Goethals’s side extended their advantage to 50-36.

The Chinese could not get their offense going in the first half and their opponents only allowed them to take four three-pointers in the first 20 minutes.

Belgium stayed in the ascendancy in the third quarter and were up 73-55 entering the final frame.

China worked their way back into the game but Goethals strategically called timeouts to affect the momentum and his team kept their nerve and held on.

The USA are the last team with a perfect record (4-0) following their 84-55 win over Turkey at the Amphitheatre in Rodez.

The result saw Barbara Nelson’s girls ensure they finish first in Group A.

The Americans were aggressive from the very start, especially on defense where they forced the Turks to beat them from the perimeter. The strategy paid off as Turkey made just one of 17 shot attempts in the opening period, by the end of which they trailed 21-4.

The game’s outcome was pretty much assured at that point as the USA spread the wealth on offense, with every player getting on the court and on the score sheet. Jewel Loyd and Morgan Tuck had 11 points apiece.

In Toulouse, Australia cruised to an 88-39 win over Mali, making it three wins out of four for Peter Lonergan’s charges.

For Mali, this was their fourth defeat in as many games. The minnows scored the game’s opening points and the last of the first quarter, on Mariam Maiga’s buzzer-beating three-pointer.

However, not much went their way in between those two plays as they trailed a slow and sleepy-looking Australian side 17-7.
Tayla Roberts then led an Aussie 29-4 run that saw them go up 46-21 at halftime and they tightened their hold on the game with an 18-0 run in the third quarter.

That stretch was made worse for Mali by the fact that Fanta Guindo was injured and did not return to the game.

Leading 70-24, the final frame was a formality for Australia, but Oumarou Sidiya’s side used the period to trim their margin of defeat.

In a must-win game for both teams, Russia used a strong second half to see off Canada 76-61 in Rodez.

Anna Arkhipova-Von Kalmanovich’s side made a concerted effort of attacking the basket after having taken a 29-28 lead at halftime. The move worked to great effect as they outscored their opponents 47-33 in the last two quarters.

The Russians got higher percentage shots, got to the free-throw line and sucked in the Canadian defense to open things up from three-point territory.

At the other end of the court, they opened the second half with a full court press defense which Canada had a hard time getting past.

Finally, Spain had the hot hand from beyond the three-point arc and used it to take an early lead on their way to a 68-38 defeat of Argentina.

Both teams came into the game with a 1-2 mark in Group B and desperately needed to win to stand a chance of challenging for a quarter-final berth.

Victor Lapena’s side hit three long bombs in the game’s first four minutes and led 19-7 – on six of seven from long range – at the end of the first quarter.

Argentina used an 8-0 run in the second period to close the gap, but the Spaniards took control once again going into halftime with a 27-14 advantage.

They continued their three-point barrage after the break, finishing with 14 makes out of 24 attempts. They had just seven made shots from two-point range on the night.

Andrea Vilaro had a game-high 18 points, connecting on six of her 10 tries from deep.

FIBA/LOC