France and USA set for Final showdown at U17 Women's World Cup

MINSK (FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2018) - France and USA will compete for the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 title on Sunday after coming through contrasting Semi-Finals.

Three-time champions USA trailed for all of 19 seconds as they eased to an 84-39 defeat of Hungary with a 20-0 run in the first quarter setting the tone. Jordan Horston had a game-high 18 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in the win.

Meanwhile, France secured their first Final appearance since 2010 - when they hosted the event - after coming from 15 points down to beat Australia 68-58.

The defending champions were in the ascendancy at half-time, leading 36-21 before a 19-1 burst by the French right after the break saw momentum drastically shift.

Iliana Rupert was authoritative in her display with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks, while Zoe Wadoux added 16 points including some huge shots in the second half.

"Honestly in the first half, we scared ourselves," admitted Rupert. "Defensively the coaching staff gave us instructions that the game would hang on and we didn't follow them in the first half. That's why we fell behind by 15 points. In the second half we played as if we had nothing to lose and we fought back and correcting the mistakes we made on defense allowed us to get back in the game. Once we found our way, we couldn't be stopped."

Sunday's games (all times GMT + 3)
Final
France v USA (20:30)

3rd Place Game
Australia v Hungary (18:00)

Classification Game 5-6
Italy v Spain (15:30)

Classification Game 7-8
Latvia v Japan (13:15)

Classification Game 9-10
Mali v Canada (17:45)

Classification Game 11-12
New Zealand v China (15:30)

Classification Game 13-14
Argentina v Colombia (11:00)

Classification Game 15-16
Belarus v Angola (13:00)

To catch up on the day's action, check out our Live Updates page.

FIBA