France overwhelm Puerto Rico on opening day

XI'AN (China) - France went through a rather sluggish first few minutes before shifting into high gear as they overwhelmed Puerto Rico to open the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Xi'an.

 

 

Coach Jean Aime Toupane's squad had a slow start to this game, with only Iliana Rupert scoring within the first five minutes. However, they were just too talented to falter. Marine Johannes led the way with 17 points, while Gabby Williams added 11 points and 3 steals. Alix Duchet also did well with 12 points off the bench.

 

Turning Point: Puerto Rico held a slim 6-5 lead with 4:25 minutes to go in the first quarter. That's when coach Toupane flipped a switch and inserted Johannes into the game. She immediately made her presence felt, hitting two three-pointers as Les Bleus ended the first period with a 10-0 run. France continued to build on that in the second quarter and never looked back to book their first win, 88-40.

TCL Player of the Game: When Marine Johannes wants to go, she just goes. On top of her 17 points, the 29-year-old also finished with 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 three-pointers in just under 17 minutes of play. She was an unstoppable sparkplug for France as they opened their campaign with a resounding win.

 

Dominique Malonga scored her first points for the French National Team on her second game with Les Bleues. The young prospect was very convincing with 8 points and an Efficiency rating of 15.

Stats don't lie​: France were too good from beyond the arc. They hit seven triples in the first half and followed that up with five more in the last two periods. In all, coach Toupane's wards shot 12-of-29 from beyond the arc. Their red-hot shooting constantly made the Puerto Rican defense guessing.

The real surprise is that the French reserves only managed to outscore Puerto Rico by 55-40! It's a testament to France's overall dominance on that particular day.

Bottom Line​: This opening victory is a statement from France. Despite already qualifying to the Olympic Games 2024 as the hosts, they are determined to leave everything on the floor here. They will face OQT hosts China next in a matchup of the two heavy favorites here in Xi'an. Despite losing here, Puerto Rico can still qualify for the Olympic Games, especially if they win against New Zealand on Day 2.

They said: "Tough game for us. France is one of the best teams in the world. They put a lot of pressure to us today. I think we got frustrated because we did not hit the basket enough." - Gerardo Batista, Puerto Rico head coach

"France is a powerhouse, but so are we. We have our moments where we play our best and moments where we're still getting used to each other. Today was one of those games where our shots were not falling, but a lot of good things happened. We will keep playing together and figuring things out. On to the next." - Sofia Roma, Puerto Rico forward

"We are really happy for the win. We did a great job on defense, and on offense, we shared the ball well." - Jean Aime Toupane, France head coach

"I think it was a good first step for us. We still have a lot of work to do, but our defense was good." - Marine Johannes, France guard

FIBA