It’s day two of the FIBA world championships for women in Turkey and a chance for the teams that lost their opening encounters to fight back in this already vital stage.
Group A
Czech Republic 71-57 Japan
Czech Republic went 2-0 in Group A after beating winless Japan 71-57 in Ankara.
The Czechs narrowly led 53-51 after three quarters until they raced away in the final quarter by holding the Japanese to just 6 points as they secured a comfortable win.
Petra Kulichova led the Czechs with 19 points and 9 rebounds in a fantastic personal haul. Michiko Miyamoto had 16 for Japan.
Spain 83-56 Brazil
Spain shrugged off a woeful first quarter to beat Brazil 83-56 to leave the two European sides to play for top spot in Group A.
Alba Torrens and Sancho Lyttle again dominated for the Spanish as they both amassed 15 points, the latter also grabbing 13 rebounds for the winners.
Group B
France 89-45 Mozambique
France got back to winning ways by beating Mozambique 89-45 as they move to 1-1 in the group.
It was a routine win for Les Bleus. They led 20-13 after the first and went on to take a 47-21 half-time lead en route to collecting their first victory.
Sandrine Gruda led the French with 19 points.
Canada 44-55 Turkey
Turkey left it until the final quarter, but in a intense, defence-focused battle, they outlasted Canada 55-44 in Ankara.
In a game that was gridlocked at 31-31 after three quarters, the hosts finally found a weakness as they wore down a stubborn Canadian side for the win.
Lara Sanders led Turkey with 18 points.
Group C
Australia 87-54 Korea
Australia have yet to be tested in Group C after they comfortably defeated Korea 87-54 in Istanbul.
Led by Laura Hodges’ 14 points, the Opals led 25-9 after the first quarter and never looked back as they were too strong for the Koreans, who drop to 0-2.
Belarus 70-69 Cuba
Belarus were staring defeat in the face until a three from Katsiaryna Snytsina with 14 seconds remaining spared the blushes and gave the European side a 70-69 win over Cuba.
Cuba drop to 0-2 and will be utterly devastated that they didn’t come away with a win after leading for so long but failing to capitalise on their chances when it mattered.
An impressive double-double of 20 points and 18 rebounds from Yelena Leuchenka paced the now 2-0 Belarussians to victory.
Group D
Angola 39-65 China
China responded after their defeat to the USA with a resounding 65-39 demolition of undersized Angola.
The Asian side go 1-1 with this win as Shao Ting’s 14 points led the Chinese to victory.
USA 94-74 Serbia
After the first quarter, Serbia’s women were showing their male counterparts how it should be done against the Americans.
Then the USA woke up and ended up beating the Serbians 94-74 as the holders remain unbeaten at 2-0 in Group D.
Diana Taurasi led the U.S. with 20 points, supported by Maya Moore’s 17 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists.
