LEON & IRAPUATO (Mexico) - The FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2024 Round of 16 brought exciting impressive team efforts and standout individual performances. From Finland's historic Quarter-Finals qualification to Japan's impressive passing game and the USA's dominant victory, the Round of 16 brought a ton of highlights.
First-timers Finland catch fire to make more history
Just 24 hours after landing a maiden victory in the competition, there's more history now in the books for Finland after they reached the Quarter-Finals for the first time. The debutantes chose a great time to post their best display by far as they torched New Zealand 78-55.
It was a hugely impressive success, built around a strong team effort and headlined by Nicole Ogun. She had a big reputation coming into the tournament and delivered with a huge double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Record breaking night for Yamada and Japan
The passing game of Japan was on show in all of its glory as they breezed into the Quarter-Finals with a 100-60 win against Mali. They handed out 31 assists in the game to post a record high and beat their previous tally of 30 six years ago.
Sara Yamada was the key architect, making history by becoming the first-ever player to hand out double-digits in assists across more than one game at the same tournament.
USA cruise past Egypt
Team USA hardly broke a sweat as they made short work of winless Egypt, 114-45. The Americans led by 20 points at the end of the first period and never looked back.
Coach Meg Barber's squad very nearly broke more records in this game. They moved the ball around very well, tallying 33 assists, which is now the third-best single-game mark in the competition's history. Not surprisingly, USA's playmaking resulted in 39 two-point field goals made, which ties the 4th all-time mark set by Canada back in 2012.
McKenna Woliczko made her presence felt everywhere, scoring 10 points along with 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists, and 1 blocked shot. Hailee Swain and Jerzy Robinson torched the nets, too, each scoring 20 points to pace USA. As for Egypt, Khadiga Abouelghait led the way with 13 points.
France come from behind to upend Croatia
France had to regroup at half-time and mount a second-half rally before they managed to surge past Croatia, 63-59, and advance to the Quarter-Finals. Things were tight the entire game, with no team enjoying more than a 6-point lead. The Croatians even held the lead at the half, 37-32, before coach Arnaud Guppillotte's side put the defensive clamps on their foes in the third period.
Croatia even retook the lead for the last time after an Ana Pavic triple game them a 59-56 edge with 1:42 left. The French, however, scored the last 7 points of the game to turn the tables and punch their tickets to the round of 8. Justine Loubens top-scored for France with 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Other results
- Australia were far too strong for Continential rivals Chinese Taipei as the Sapphires stormed their way into the Quarter-Finals with an 89-45 victory. Lara Somfai and Jade Crook led the way in a balanced team effort, scoring 14 and 13 points respectively.
- Canadian duo Agot Makeer and Savannah Swords did the business again to fuel their team's 84-50 win against Puerto Rico. The former had an all-action 21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals, with Swords adding 17 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
- Italy booked their fourth win in as many games after beating Argentina, 67-49. It was a balanced offensive display for coach Giovanni Lucchesi's squad as Isabel Hassan, Emma D'Este, and Nicole Torresani each scored 10 or more points to lead the Azzurri to the Quarter-Finals.
- Mexico held a slight 2-point lead for half a minute in the first quarter before Spain finally woke up and went all business against the hosts. The Spaniards outscored Mexico, 32-4, in the second quarter, blowing the game wide open on the way to an 83-32 result. Nicole Dominguez shone brightest for the victors with 16 points and 9 rebounds.
Top Performers
Top Highlight
Quarter-Finals
Italy vs France Japan vs USA Spain vs Australia Finland vs Canada
Classification 9-16
Mali vs Egypt Argentina vs Croatia New Zealand vs Puerto Rico Mexico vs Chinese Taipei
FIBA