SYDNEY, Australia — Holders the US surged
into the
women’s basketball World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday with a
comfortable 77–63 victory over China in Sydney, as Belgium survived a scare
against Puerto Rico.
اضافة اعلان
After crushing Belgium and Puerto Rico, the
Americans faced a trickier Group A test against an emerging China, who were
tipped to be the US’ biggest threat to an 11th world title.
But the three-time defending champions led
throughout in front of a capacity 21,000 crowd.
A nervous Belgium, who made the semifinals in 2018,
hung on with a tense 68–65 win over Puerto Rico to notch their second straight
victory after losing to the US on day one.
The mighty US set up their victory over China with a
dominant first half to notch their 25th consecutive win at the World Cup —
stretching back to 2010 — and became the first team to qualify for the final
eight.
They led 44–25 at the long break before thwarting
China’s late rally.
A’ja Wilson (20 points, eight rebounds) and Chelsea
Gray (12 points, six rebounds) starred on their debuts in the 10-day
tournament.
US coach Cheryl Reeve praised her team’s defense,
which stymied a China side who had hit the century mark in their previous wins
against South Korea and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Li Meng (21 points) and Wang Siyu (17 points) led a
gritty China, who fell to a 2–1 record.
Boasting youthful talent and a high-octane style,
China were widely tipped to test the US.
But the Americans had all the answers and were boosted
by the returns of Wilson, Gray, and
Kelsey Plum, who made their first
appearances after arriving in Sydney jet-lagged early Friday following the Las
Vegas Aces’ victory in the WNBA Finals.
Gray showed no signs of weariness with a
three-pointer for the hot-shooting US, who raced out to an 11–0 lead within two
minutes.
Willed on by rowdy fans in the stands, China
desperately tried to stay afloat but forward Alyssa Thomas dominated around the
basket to stretch US’ advantage at half-time.
The Americans were uncharacteristically cold from
the field in the third quarter and China capitalized to get within single
digits.
But the US put the foot down with the first nine
points of the final quarter and snuffed out China’s late challenge to maintain
their unbeaten record.
Belgium had a tougher task against improved
Puerto Rico, who won their first ever World Cup game in their opener against Bosnia
and Herzegovina.
They sniffed a major upset when star Arella
Guirantes’ three-point play gave Puerto Rico a 62–61 lead, but Belgium rallied
through Kyara Linskens, who was spectacular with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
The top four teams from each of the two groups
progress to the quarter-finals.
In the other Group A game, Leeseul Kang was unstoppable with
37 points to power South Korea to a 99–66 thrashing of winless Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
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