Olympic Shocker: Taylor, Australia Eliminated by Dabovic, Serbia

The Australian Women’s National Team has earned a medal in every Olympics since 1996. But in national star Penny Taylor’s final Olympic run, there will be no medal after a shocking upset in the Quarterfinals on Tuesday to Serbia.
Australia, who breezed through preliminary group play with a 5-0 record and looked to be the main threat to the USA’s Olympic dominance, got bottled up by Serbia’s strong perimeter defense and couldn’t keep pace trading buckets in the paint with Serbia’s hot shooting down the stretch.
L.A. Sparks guard Ana Dabovic willed the Serbs to victory with a team-high 24 points, including the final two scores, a jumper that proved to be the game-winner with under 30 ticks left, and a free-throw to seal it with 10 to go.
Taylor finished with just two points but a game-high nine assists, as she was continuously double-teamed and opted to get teammates involved. Former Tulsa Shock center Liz Cambage had a game-high 29 points with very strong physical play inside for Australia. She rattled off the final four scores for the Opals. Australia had a chance to tie or take the lead on the final play but strong point defense cut Leilani Mitchell off up top and prevented a shot.
First-time Olympians, Serbia now await their Semifinal matchup with Spain Thursday.