Reed High product Gabby Williams will play against Team USA for an Olympic gold medal after France beat Belgium, 81-75, in overtime during a semifinal game Friday in Paris.
Williams will earn her second Olympic medal after helping France win bronze in the 2021 Tokyo Games. Now, she’s shooting for gold for the host country, which will be a major underdog during Sunday’s gold-medal matchup with the Americans.
France rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit after allowing Belgium to go on a 22-0 run that overlapped the second and third quarters. France then went on a major run to put itself in a commanding position to win in regulation before allowing a six-point lead in the final 40 seconds to turn into a nail-biting overtime affair.
But Williams scored the first five points of overtime, hit a key basket in the final 40 seconds and sank the game-sealing free throws to secure France’s second appearance in an Olympic gold-medal game. Williams, who was born and raised in Northern Nevada but is eligible to play for France through her mother’s lineage, had 18 points, four assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes. She was 5-of-13 from the field, including 1-of-5 from three. She made 7-of-7 free throws.
France prevailed despite making just 23-of-77 shots (29.9 percent) to Belgium’s 23-of-52 (44.2 percent). France held a 19-7 edge in offensive rebounds with Belgium committing 22 turnovers. France also made 28-of-32 free throws.
Belgium opened an early lead before a 12-0 run by France led to a 31-24 edge for the home team. But Belgium finished the first half on a 12-0 run before starting the second half on a 10-0 spurt to take a 46-31 edge midway through the third quarter. That led to a major answer from France, which went on a 28-7 run before a raucous crowd. But Belgium hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game before France missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
In overtime, Williams opened the scoring with a three-point play before hitting another layup to give France a 71-66 lead it would never give up. Belgium cut the deficit to 76-75 with less than a minute to play before Williams drove for a layup and three-point lead with 37 seconds remaining. She made two free throws with 14.8 seconds left to seal the victory. Williams finished with nine of France’s 15 overtime points.
France women’s basketball will play for its first Olympic gold medal when it faces the United States on Sunday, 6:30 a.m. The Americans beat Australia, 85-64, in the other semifinal (Australia beat France, 79-72, in the group stage). France’s only other gold-medal game appearance came in 2012 when it lost to the U.S, 86-50, in 2012. France’s bronze in 2021 was the country’s second Olympic medal in women’s basketball.
Beating the U.S. will take a herculean effort as the Americans are 5-0 in these Olympics with an average winning margin of victory of18.6 points, its closest win being an 88-74 victory over Nigeria in the quarterfinals. France beat Germany, 84-71, in the quarters and will have a partisan crowd in Paris. Both basketball gold-medal games will be played between the U.S. and France with the men also playing for the Olympic championship on Sunday.
Team USA aims for its eighth straight Olympic gold in a streak that dates back to 1996. The Americans have won nine of the last 10 Olympic golds in women’s hoops.
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Publish date : 2024-08-09 03:20:00
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