Day five: 2014 Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Worlds
25.06.2014Germany and the Netherlands remain undefeated to top their respective pools as the quarter finals are decided.
The Dutch team had to come from behind to beat Australia, whilst the Germans continued their dominance with a commanding victory over Japan as the pool phase came to a close.
Germany and the Netherlands remained undefeated to top their respective pools on day five (24 June) of the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Toronto, Canada.
The Dutch team had to come from behind to beat Australia, whilst the Germans continued their dominance with a commanding victory over Japan as the pool phase came to a close.
Canada, the USA and China also secured victories to book their place in the quarter finals.
Pool A
The Netherlands 47-38 Australia
The Netherlands produced a remarkable comeback as they beat Australia to remain undefeated in the pools.
Australia carried all the momentum in the early stages and held a 16-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Netherlands persisted, going on a 8-4 run to start the second to tie the game. Australia then scored the last chance of the first half to lead 27-25 at the break.
The second half was a much different story as the Netherlands went on the rampage to capture their fifth win of the tournament - outscoring their opponent 22-11 in the final two quarters.
In turning around the result, head coach Gertjan van der Linden said that he relayed a simple message to his team at the halfway stage.
“The thing was to be calm and play your own game and so then it will be our turn,” van der Linden said. “To read the game and play our own game as we’ve practiced and then we are good enough to beat Australia.”
Mexico 63-24 Peru
Mexico got their first win of the tournament with a huge win over Peru.
Peru held their first lead of the World Championships in the opening minute of the match before Mexico pulled away to score 26 points in the second quarter to extend their lead beyond reach.
From there, they controlled the rest of the game to claim a 63-24 victory.
USA 74-35 France
The USA enjoyed a big victory over France to book a ticket to Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Rebecca Murray tallied 17 points in the first quarter helping lead the Americans to a 22-point lead at halftime.
Top scorer Murray finished the game with 25 points. Teammate Desiree Miller added 20 points and eight rebounds to earn player of the game honours as the USA won 74-35.
Pool B
Germany 82-49 Japan
Germany secured first place in Pool B with a huge victory over Japan.
The game was closely fought in the opening stages, with Germany extending its lead to ten (36-26) at the halfway stage.
But the Germans, as they have done throughout the competition, upped the ante in the second half to increase the deficit.
Mareike Adermann led the German offence with 23 points and nine rebounds. Linda Dahle and Marina Mohnen added 11 points apiece.
Japan’s Mari Amimoto responded with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, but it was not enough to catch the Paralympic champions.
Canada 59-52 Great Britain
Canada had to rely on a big fourth quarter, scoring 19 points, to come from behind to defeat Great Britain.
Great Britain started strongly and edged the second quarter to give themselves a 26-25 lead at half-time. After three quarters, the two teams were tied on 40 apiece.
But Canada came out flying in the final stanza, going on an impressive scoring run and countering Great Britain’s aggressive defence to secure the 59-52 win.
China 74-44 Brazil
China captured their quarter final spot with victory over Brazil.
Six shot clock violations for Brazil hurt their chances in the game and gave China the advantage.
Yong Qing Fu had a terrific game, putting up 34 points in just 22 minutes of play to help her side claim the 74-44 victory.
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In the quarter finals, Germany will take on France, the Netherlands will host China, Canada take on Australia and the USA face Great Britain.