Opals hand France first loss, improve to 3-0

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Australia improved to 3-0 by handing France their first defeat of the tournament, 89-71, on Day 4 of the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament at the Deodoro Youth Arena.

Turning point: After a close first quarter that ended with the Opals up 21-19, Brendan Joyce's charges opened the second with a 15-0 run to take a commanding 36-19 lead. Les Bleues went scoreless for the first 5:53 of the period before running off 8 unanswered points that got them within 36-27. However, Marianna Tolo and Cayla George scored timely baskets and Liz Cambage - having checked back in after sitting out since the 6:30 mark of the first quarter due to foul trouble - scored on the final possession for a 46-29 halftime lead. 

Stats Don't Lie: France never led in the game.

Hero: Penny Taylor had her best scoring outing at an Olympics, finishing with a game-high 31 points. It is the biggest offensive performance by an individual player in the tournament so far. She also led all players with 9 assists.

The Bottom Line: With their place in the Quarter-Finals booked, Australia can look to finish the Group Phase with strong performances against Japan and Belarus, while also using of those games to rest key players. As for France, the loss dropped them drop to 2-1, good enough for second place in Group A for the time being and they will look to bounce back against Brazil on Thursday. 

FIBA