The women’s tournament finishes up its second round of group play on Thursday, Aug. 1, with four games on tap including a huge clash between the U.S. and reigning EuroBasket champions Belgium.
Follow along for a breakdown of all the day’s action from Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
Women’s Group C: Germany 75, Japan 64
It wasn’t nearly as pretty as the opening blowout of Belgium, but Satou Sabally‘s 33 points helped Germany grind out a tough win over Japan on Thursday to move atop Group C at 2-0.
Neither team cracked 40% from the field in what was a tough, physical, defensive-minded game. But on a day in which hardly any baskets came easy, Sabally was the difference for the Germans, pouring in a tournament-high 33 points on 11-of-17 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep.
This Japanese team thrives on chaos, pushing the pace and getting up as many 3s as it can. But while it succeeded in mucking things up against a more talented team, it simply couldn’t get enough shots to fall; Japan finished just 9-of-30 from deep, including a 3-of-10 effort from Saki Hayashi.
Germany held a slight lead throughout, taking a six-point edge into the halftime break and stretching it to as much as 12 in the fourth. Japan cut it back down to five on a Hayashi 3 with 90 seconds remaining, but two Alexis Peterson free throws salted things away.
Germany’s win sets up a huge showdown with the U.S. in the final round of group play on Sunday, Aug. 4; if the Americans win on Thursday afternoon against Belgium, that game will be for all the marbles in Group C. Japan still has a path to advance to the quarterfinals as a third-place team, but they’ll need to beat Belgium on Sunday and get some help.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.