The Australian women’s basketball team defeated Serbia and qualified for the semi-finals at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris On Wednesday.
The Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille will host the Opalsnumber three, beat Serbia, number 10 in the world, 87-65. Alanna Smith led the attack for Australia, scoring 22 points, while George Cayla and Jade Melbourne also contributed 18 points each.
Serbia, Olympic bronze medallists in Rio 2016, were no match for Australia, although Jovana Nogic did her best with 17 points.
Australia, a five-time Olympic medalist, will face either Nigeria or the United States in the semifinals on August 9.
The Opals play in the women’s semifinals basketball The team took part in an event for the first time again at the 2012 Summer Olympics. At that time they were eliminated in the semifinals by the eventual winners USA before winning the bronze medal against Russia.
The Serbian basketball team was the first to get on the scoreboard when Jovana Nogic made a two-point shot, but Steph Talbot put the Opals on the scoreboard shortly after, making it 2-2.
Australia took a 10-6 lead with Alanna Smith hitting back-to-back two-pointers. As Serbia closed in in the final minutes of the first quarter, George Cayla proved crucial, helping the Opals take a 26-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Australia extended their lead to 31-19 early in the second quarter and despite Serbia’s efforts to close the gap, they were ahead 40-25 five minutes before halftime.
Jade Melbourne made a couple of two-pointers while Cayla made two free throws, giving the Opals a 48-32 halftime lead.
Serbia was no match for Australia in the third quarter, when the Opals stepped up a gear. Smith increased the lead to 50-35 and extended the lead to 64-39 within a few minutes.
Just two minutes before the end of the quarter, Jade Melbourne equalized at 72-45 with the help of two free throws, but Serbia scored three points in the final seconds and ended the quarter with a 72-45 deficit against Australia.
Australia maintained its dominance in the first half of the final quarter and prevented the Serbian team from making any advance. The Opals defended their 22-point lead in the final minutes and were not in an uncomfortable position.
In the end, they won 85-67 and made it to the semifinals of the basketball tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
