Olympics Day Five: Opals Take Russia Showdown
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Get Storm Headlines!The schedulemakers in Beijing held the first true showdown of the Olympics for the final day of group play, with Australia and Russia bringing undefeated records into a matchup to decide first place in Group A. Russia put together a terrific first half of basketball to lead 37-25 at the midway mark, but the slow-starting Australian Defence Force Opals stormed all the way back to win going away, 75-55.
Australia brought a 13-game winning streak in major international competition into the game and had yet to be really tested in the Olympics, while Russia had to come from behind repeatedly in narrow wins over lesser competition. However, it was the Aussies who continued their trend of poor first halves, totaling just 25 points. Meanwhile, Becky Hammon piled up 16 points in her best stretch playing for Russia.
With Hammon unable to find her shot and the Opals heating up, things changed quickly in the third quarter. A 16-4 run brought Australia even just after the midway point of the period, with a 
Lauren Jackson three-pointer giving the reigning World Champions the lead shortly thereafter. Jackson's bucket to kick off fourth-quarter scoring gave the Opals a double-digits lead, and Russia would get no closer, going scoreless over the last 3:45 of the game. The second-half differential was enormous, with Australia outscoring Russia by 32 points, 50-18.
While both teams advance to the quarterfinals as the top two seeds from Group A, the stakes were still high. With the win, Australia entered the easier half of the draw. The Opals would face the winner of the quarterfinal between Belarus and China by beating the Czech Republic. Russia, meanwhile, faces a much more challenging quarterfinal against hot Spain. If the Russians win, the undefeated and dominant United States will likely be waiting in the semifinals. Australia will not play the U.S. until the gold-medal game, should both teams get that far.
"When you are 20 points down and suddenly look up there and you see your dream slipping away, something clicks in," said Jackson, exaggerating only slightly (16 points was the largest Russian lead). "I feel emotional. We needed to win this game so bad. It was a crucial win because we want to meet Team USA in the final."
Russia held the Opals to 36.1 percent shooting, including four three-pointers in 22 attempts, but plenty of those misses ended up in Australian hands. The Aussies had 23 offensive rebounds, dominating a matchup of the top two rebounding teams in Beijing. Jackson pulled down 14 boards, while Suzy Batkovic grabbed 10 and guard Belinda Snell contributed from the perimeter with nine rebounds. Snell and Jackson scored 16 points apiece to lead Australia, which also got 12 points from Penny Taylor.
Jackson was just as good at the defensive end of the floor, helping stifle Russia's star center Maria Stepanova. The 6-8 Stepanova missed all seven of her shot attempts and had more fouls (four) than points (three) in a disappointing effort. Besides Hammon, who finished with 20 points, and Svetlana Abrosimova, who scored 16, the Russians struggled to score. The rest of the team combined for 19 points and 6-of-37 shooting.
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Any doubt in the USA's last game of group play was removed by the second quarter, as the U.S. women outscored New Zealand 27-6 (including a 21-0 run) to take a 24-point lead to the locker room. The final 96-60 margin gave the U.S. its fifth blowout victory in as many games. The USA's five group wins came by an average of 43.0 points, far more dominant than in any of the past three runs to Olympic gold (33.6 ppg in Atlanta, 29.0 ppg in Athens and 24.8 ppg in Sydney).
"We're happy," said Storm point guard 
Sue Bird. "We had a good five games, good momentum, but we know it's going to be different the next couple of games so we’re looking forward to that."
The U.S. will play South Korea on Tuesday in the quarterfinals, but potential matchups against Russia (a rematch of the 2006 World Championships semifinal upset loss) and Australia are looming and figure to challenge the U.S. women in a way that their group opponents were unable to compete.
The Tall Ferns, who finished their trip to Beijing at 1-4, gave the U.S. a test for a quarter. As has become customary, the USA picked up its intensity in the second quarter, particularly at the defensive end of the floor. New Zealand was held scoreless for nearly seven and a half minutes before Stanford forward Jillian Harmon scored at the first-half buzzer. New Zealand shot a respectable 43.6 percent from the field, the first opponent to shoot 40 percent against the U.S, with guard Angela Marino scoring 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting. However, 21 turnovers limited the Kiwis.
Balanced scoring again ruled the day for the USA, which saw four players score in double-figures and three more put up at least eight points. Tina Thompson led with 15 points in 17 minutes of action. Content to set up her teammates, Bird attempted only one shot in her 15 minutes of action, grabbing three rebounds and handing out a pair of assists.
BRAZIL 68, BELARUS 53
A disappointing Olympics ended on a positive note for Brazil, which defeated Belarus 68-53 for its lone victory in Beijing. Brazil ended the five games outscored by a total of just 17 points, easily the best of the four teams eliminated from quarterfinal consideration and also ahead of medal-round-bound South Korea (-33). A number of narrow losses worked against Brazil.
Storm center 
Kelly Santos was solid throughout the Olympics for Brazil and finished her run in Beijing with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and five rebounds. She ranked eighth amongst all players with 14.6 points per game and her 29 free throws were tops in the Olympics. Franciele Nacimiento added a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Yelena Leuchanka had 10 points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes of action as Belarus, already locked into the third spot in Group A, gave its star center a light load.
ELSEWHERE ...
China 79, Czech Republic 63 - The hosts burst out to a 24-11 lead after one quarter and made it stand up in a victory that clinched second place in Group B. China held the Czech Republic to 32.3 percent shooting and got 21 points from Lijie Miao and 18 points from Chen Nan in improving to 4-1. The Chinese will face Belarus in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic was bumped to fourth in Group B, meaning a difficult matchup against Australia in the quarters.
South Korea 72, Latvia 68 - With a spot in the medal round on the line, South Korea outscored Latvia 40-22 in the second and third quarters to build a big lead and then held off a comeback for the win. Jung Eun Park hit five of Korea's 11 three-pointers, helping overcome a 41-26 deficit on the glass and 22 points from Latvian guard Anete Jekabsone-Zogota.
Spain 79, Mali 47 - Spain claimed a 19-5 lead after one quarter and never looked back, sending the FIBA Africa champs home winless in Beijing. The most noteworthy aspect of the game was Spanish star Amaya Valdemoro finishing with 21 points in her second straight strong outing, indicating she's past the calf injury that slowed her early in the Olympics.
