AUS/CHN - China’s three-point barrage fells solid Australia

TOULOUSE (FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) – China surprised Australia by using a three-point barrage to record a 92-75 win in front of the biggest crowd yet in Toulouse.

On paper the Chinese were the underdogs for this game, but no-one knew how their height would influence the result against a confident Australian team. 

China didn’t hesitate from long range and launched shot after shot, finishing with 14 makes out of 39 attempts.

They took a 32-27 lead at the end of a high-scoring first quarter. There weren’t as many points to be had in the second quarter but the action was very intense and interesting and China headed into the break with a 47-39 advantage.

The third quarter saw a thrilling spell of end-to-end play with the Chinese dominating the first part of the period and the Aussies getting their turn as they got to within 70-63 with the game heading into the fourth quarter.

China somehow, somewhere found another gear in the final frame and created some distance once more, only for Australia to threaten again, but only for a short spell as they were handed their first defeat of the tournament.

Li Meng led all scorers with 24 points.

Quotes

Wang Guizhi (Chinese head coach): Australia is a very good team with a very high level. It is a chance for us to have faced them today. We watched the video of the Australian team and we adapted our defense. For me, defense and rebounds were the keys to beat Australia.

Peter Lonergan (Australia head coach): Congratulation to China. We watched them play and they showed they are a world-class team. They were very well coached. We were disappointed in a few aspects of the game yesterday and unsuccessfully tried to correct them. As far as possession is concerned, we weren’t really able to improve that as we were chasing a good Chinese offense.

FIBA/LOC