Gems finish fourth at FIBA U19 Women’s World Champ
The Australian U19 women’s basketball team, the Gems, have finished fourth at the 2011 FIBA U19 World championship, losing to Brazil this morning by three points in their bronze medal match.
Brazil delivered the Gems their first loss of the tournament on Thursday (AEST), beating the Aussies convincingly in that match-up. But this contest would be different, with the Gems pushing the Brazilians right to the end, ultimately falling short 70-67.
It was a third-quarter slump from the Aussies offensively that made putting together a winning score a difficult proposition, after the team led by two at the half.
An impressive second term, where the Gems outscored the Brazilians by 19-13, put their noses in front at the long break, but they were held to just 10 points for the third term, allowing the South Americans to open up a six-point lead going into the final quarter.
The Gems fought hard in the last, making up ground, but they were unable to get over the top of Brazil in the end, having to settle for a top-four finish after the loss, still a great result for Australia.
Tayla Roberts and Rebecca Allen both top-scored for the Gems with 16 points, Allen also snatching 12 rebounds. Rebecca Cole capped off a great tournament also, finishing with 12 points and seven assists.
Cole finished second overall in assists per game (6.0 apg) across the whole tournament, proving herself as one of the top guards in the world at the U19 level. She also averaged 11.5 points per game.
Tayla Roberts made a similar statement in the paint. She finished the tournament sixth overall in points per game (15.9ppg) and seventh overall in rebounds per game (8.4 rpg).
Australian Gems 67 (Roberts 16, Allen 16) def by Brazil 70 (Dantas 26, Lambert 14)
Quarter by quarter
16 – 20
35 – 33 (19 – 13)
45 – 51 (10 – 18)
67 – 70 (22 – 19)
