‘We don’t want to go home empty-handed’: Opals play for bronze after China loss

The Australian Opals have just 15 and a half hours to get over the heartbreak of their semi-final loss and chase a bronze medal against Canada.

Opals coach Sandy Brondello lamented some missed layups and a lack of good fortune after her side’s 61-59 loss to China in front of 11,916 roaring fans at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night.

Samantha Whitcomb and Lauren Jackson after the Opals lost to China on Friday night.Credit: Getty Images

“We don’t want to go home empty-handed so we have to just let things go now and focus on just Canada,” Brondello said.

“It hurts when you don’t get what you wanted but we could still get on the podium. So I’ll just try to uplift them, get them rest and recovery and come out and have a great game Saturday.”

Chinese guard Siyu Wang made two free throws with three seconds to play to give her nation the lead before Ezi Magbegor’s last second contested lay-up rimmed out to see China take victory and lock in their first medal since the 1994 event which was also hosted in Sydney.

Sami Whitcomb led the Opals with 15 points while Magbegor and Steph Talbot had 12 points each.

Siyu Wang of China celebrates.Credit: Getty Images

The Opals will face Canada at 1pm for the bronze medal then USA will chase their 11th world title against China at 4pm.

Opals veteran Cayla George, who had 10 points and two steals, backed her side to bounce back despite the turnaround.

“We’ve come back from a lot of adversity in the last 10 years so I’m really proud of the girls and myself,” George said.

“We’ll have a small time to reflect in the locker room and as soon as we walk out, it’ll be game on for Saturday.

“We’ve always had each other’s back and we will come back and give it a red-hot crack.”

The fans were split between Australian and Chinese supporters with both sides receiving deafening ovations that ended with the victorious Chinese fans chanting “MVP, MVP” for centre Han Xu whose 19 points, 11 rebounds and record-equalling five blocks turned the contest in her nation’s favour.

Brondello, who coaches Xu at WNBA club New York Liberty, also said Xu’s agility stopped her from bringing Opals great Lauren Jackson back into the game after her first stint of just under two minutes on court.

“Lauren was fine. I suppose it was just about the match-up,” Brondello said.

“Han was just a handful and China’s number 14 didn’t go back into the game. I was going to put Lauren back in if the number 14 came back but she didn’t.

Anguish for the Opals.Credit: Getty Images

“Han is very versatile. She can pop, she can roll, and that’s probably a little tough for Lauren. But she’ll be ready tomorrow and hopefully, we’ll get that bronze medal.”

Canada was thrashed 83-43 but USA in the earlier semi-final on Friday so were able to rotate and rest their players while the Opals stars didn’t have that opportunity.

“Our last game against Canada was a really tough game. So we’re going to have to be ready for another tough game,” Brondello said.

“Tonight, they didn’t play their players that much and obviously we did so that’s going to be another thing that weighs into it. We’re going to have to rely on our depth and we’re just going to have to dig deep.”

George has seen the highs and lows of recent times with the Opals didn’t lose sight of the bigger picture of a women’s basketball game drawing such a loud, invested crowd.

“It’s actually a huge win for women’s basketball, especially in this country,” George said.

USA dominates Canada to roll into gold medal game

When Canada avoided a match-up with Team USA in the quarter-finals, coach Victor Lapena exclaimed that the 10-time world champions were from “a different planet, they’re playing Space Jam”.

On Friday night, his side faced the Space Jam team and didn’t have Michael Jordan to save them as the Americans cruised to an 83-43 win in their semi-final at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night.

The USA will play for their 11th world title on Saturday afternoon against China. It will be the USA’s fourth-consecutive world cup final.

USA superstar Breanna Stewart led her country with 17 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes while A’ja Wilson had 15 points and 12 rebounds in 20 minutes.

No Canadian player scored in double figures with forward Laeticia Amihere top-scoring eight points.

USA wing Kahleah Copper sat out with a hip injury and is listed as questionable for the gold medal game.

The USA left nothing to chance against Canada, bolting out to a 27-7 quarter-time lead and never being headed.

But Canada will rue missed opportunities early in the match when they forced the Americans into six turnovers in that quarter but failed to score from those extra possessions.

The USA continued to attack the basket while Canada’s offence was struck in the mud with Breanna Stewart finding her mark and Chelsea Gray playing the creator with seven of her eight assists early in the game.

The margin continued to grow in the third term as USA cycled their players and managed their minutes, keeping Canada to just seven points for the quarter while USA rookie Sabrina Ionescu gave her fans something to cheer about when she nailed a running three-pointer on the three-quarter-time buzzer.

USA coach Cheryl Reeve could swing the minutes around in the final quarter and that saw a modest Canadian resurgence as they only lost the quarter 16-14.

The bronze medal game will be at 1pm on Saturday and the gold medal game at 4pm.

Meanwhile, Bendigo Spirit has signed WNBL games record holder Kelly Wilson, who will play her 20th season with the club when the new campaign begins in November.

Wilson has played 411 games and won two of her four championships with the Spirit in 2013 and 2014.

With Millie Muroi