Berlin (AFP) – France are through to the final of the women’s basketball World Cup for the first time after a 86-64 victory over host nation Germany on Saturday. Gabby Williams top scored with 22 points for the Olympic silver medalists, who kept their unbeaten record at the tournament alive before Sunday’s decider in Berlin.
The US-born Williams, who also topped the assist charts with five and had the most steals with four, was a constant threat on both ends of the floor for the French. Admitting she was “on a mission,” Williams told Bein Sports: “I just want to give it my all. You never know when you’ll get an opportunity like this. You don’t know if it’ll be the last one. So, I’m just going to give everything.”
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France are on track to face the United States and will hope to avenge their one-point defeat in the Olympic final in Paris in 2024, should the heavily favoured Americans get past Spain later on Saturday. The 11-time champion United States are on a 34-game winning streak at the World Cup, dating back to their surprise semi-final defeat at the hands of Russia in 2006.
The underdog Germans swept past European champions Belgium in their quarter-final clash for a first semi-final appearance as a unified country, with East Germany having made the final four in 1967. France burst out of the blocks early, but the Germans stayed hot on their heels, trailing by just two at quarter-time.
France’s quality told as the match went on, and the French scored nine straight points to start the second half, running out to a 16-point lead. Alexis Peterson and Emily Bessoir hit threes in the final quarter as the Germans cut the lead to just nine to stay within striking distance, but France again went on a run, scoring 12 straight to end the match and seal progress to a maiden final.
© 2024 AFP
