Cruel curtain call for the Cats. The Belgian basketball players lost to Australia in the final for bronze (81-85) and therefore left Paris empty-handed. In a very tight match, Belgium cracked in the last quarter by showing themselves to be far too imprecise.
Less than 48 hours after the disappointment against France, the Cats are back on the floor of the Arena de Bercy to face Australia and hope to leave with a bronze medal.
And the Belgians seem totally remobilized since they have a solid start to the match. However, they are too imprecise in shooting afterwards with only 6/13 at 2 points and 2/5 at 3 points. The Cats are nevertheless ahead on the scoreboard throughout the first quarter but take a killer three-pointer at the buzzer of Isobel Borlase which puts the Australians in the lead (19-20).
The start of the second quarter was difficult but the Cats woke up in the wake of a Emma Meesseman already dominant on both sides of the field. Less than two minutes before halftime, Belgium went back in front (34-32) on a shot fromAntonia Delaere. But as in the first quarter, Australia took the lead again in the very last seconds on a 3-pointer from Sami Whitcomb.
While until then both teams had been showing little precision, the Australians experienced a first bout of heat at the start of the second half and took a 10-point lead (42-52). But the Cats responded with a Julie Vanloo who finds her shooting efficiency again. On a 3-pointer from the leader, Belgium gets back to 50-54. The Cats continue their momentum and finish the quarter in the lead following a new basket from Vanloo (61-60).
The start of the fourth quarter was again complicated and the Cats had to chase the score. As against France, they were trailing by 6 points with less than two minutes to go. A 3-pointer from Antonia Delaere allowed Belgium to come back to 78-81 and continue to believe. Especially since Australia did not score on its next attack. Antonia Delaere was however blocked on a 3-point attempt but the Cats recovered a touch with 8 seconds to play. Rachid Méziane then takes a timeout to try to put the right strategy in place, but the Cats’ possession is catastrophic and they fail to shoot in time.
Australia regain possession and the Cats foul. Tess Magden does not tremble and scores her two free throws to create a 5-point gap (78-83). Julie Vanloo then misses a lay-up and the Cats therefore foul again but Tess Magden again makes 2 out of 2 on free throws. At the buzzer, Julie Vanloo scores a 3-pointer. Too late, Belgium loses 81-85 and sees its dream of a medal fly away.
Despite the 23 points and 5 rebounds ofEmma Meesseman and Julie Vanloo’s 26 points and 11 assists, the Cats suffered the law of the Australians who were able to rely on a gigantic Good Magbegorauthor of 30 points, 13 rebounds, 2 interceptions and 3 blocks.
