Jade Melbourne scored 14 of her 18 factors by halftime and Australia superior to the Paris Olympics semifinals in ladies’s basketball by routing Serbia 85-67 on Wednesday.
The Opals needed to win their group-play finale to succeed in the elimination spherical, and so they bought a little bit of revenge by beating the nation that surprised them within the quarterfinals on the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Australia got here into the Paris Video games ranked third on the planet, and the Opals are in search of their first Olympic medal since taking bronze on the 2012 London Video games.
Their semifinal opponent Friday can be both the U.S. or Nigeria, which play later Wednesday. The People are the reigning Olympic champions and in search of an unprecedented eighth consecutive gold. Nigeria opened the Paris Video games by beating the Opals for the nation’s first Olympic win since 2004 in Athens.
Belgium reached its first semifinal within the Cats’ second Olympic look, routing Spain 79-66 to advance. The Cats celebrated with followers by clapping thrice after which a few gamers ran across the courtroom celebrating the victory.
They’ll play both host nation France or Germany, which is trying to prolong its Olympic debut to Friday for the possibility to play for gold.
Serbia goes residence on the earliest level of the nation’s third straight Olympic look following a shocking loss that left the gamers sobbing or attempting to carry again tears within the remaining minutes. The Serbs received bronze of their Olympic debut on the Rio Video games and completed fourth three years in the past in Tokyo.
The Opals led 48-32 at halftime. In Tuesday’s males’s quarterfinals, Australia blew a 24-point lead and misplaced in extra time to Serbia. The ladies by no means got here near that Wednesday.
Alanna Smith scored 9 of her 22 factors within the third quarter, and Australia pushed its result in 28 at one level. Cayla George added 17 and Sami Whitcomb had 15 for the Opals.
Jovana Nogic led Serbia with 17 factors. Angela Dugalic added 14 and Ivana Raca 10.
Emma Meesseman, who final performed within the WNBA in 2022 with Chicago and was an All-Star that 12 months, set the tone by pulling down back-to-back 3s to open the sport for Belgium.
The Belgian Cats have been on the rise these days internationally behind Meesseman. They positioned seventh within the Tokyo Video games, fifth on the World Cup a 12 months later and received the EuroBasket championship final 12 months. The Cats had by no means reached the Olympic quarterfinals earlier than.
Meesseman completed with 19 factors, snapping her Olympic ladies’s basketball file of video games with a minimum of 20 factors at seven straight.
Now the Cats may have an opportunity at a medal regardless of dropping level guard Julie Allemand simply earlier than the opening ceremony when she reinjured an ankle that had stored her out all season for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.
Additionally they misplaced heart Becky Massey with six minutes left within the third. She badly rolled her proper ankle and went down instantly. Spain, in a pleasant gesture, positioned the ball out of bounds, giving it again to Belgium regardless of trailing 59-37 on the time.
Kyara Linskens additionally had 19 for Belgium. Antonia Delaere and Julie Vanloo added 13 apiece.
It was a disappointing end for Spain with Pau Gasol, former NBA nice and now Worldwide Olympic Committee member, watching courtside.
Spain received silver on the 2016 Rio Video games, then completed sixth three years in the past on the Tokyo Video games. The Spaniards missed the 2022 World Cup, and so they introduced in Megan Gustafson, the 2019 AP ladies’s faculty basketball participant of the 12 months out of Iowa, final summer time.
Gustafson scored 12 of her 21 factors within the first quarter, together with a 3 that tied it at 26 going into the second. Then the Cats outscored Spain 22-11 within the second to take management and lead 48-37 at halftime. Belgium had a 19-12 edge within the third, taking a 67-49 lead into the fourth.
Maite Cazorla added 13 for Spain.