Opals quarter-finals hopes given boost by USA

The scenario for the Opals is clear after the USA held off a gallant France with a dominant final quarter.

The Americans’ 93-82 victory means Australia must now beat Puerto Rico by 25 points or more in their final pool match tonight to advance to the quarter-finals at the Tokyo Olympics.

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In their two pool matches so far, Puerto Rico have lost by 42 points to China and 35 points to Belgium.

Team USA, the reigning Olympic champions, were given an almighty scare by France.

The French even held the lead in the final quarter before some vital buckets down the stretch from A’ja Wilson and Tina Charles guided the Americans to victory.

The 11-point loss means France finishes third in Group B with a point differential of +10 through three games.

That means the Opals, who currently have a points differential of -17, must beat Puerto Rico by 25 points or more to advance to the knockout stages.

Their path was made a lot tougher following a heartbreaking loss to China last Friday night.

After going into the final quarter in an eight-point hole, a spirited fightback from Australia saw Jenna O’Hea tie the scores at 74 with just 2.1 seconds left.

However, after China took a timeout, Li Yueru was fouled under the basket with 0.6 seconds left in what looked to be a late and controversial call. She calmly slotted both free throws to give China a 76-74 win.

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