- Women's basketball loses to top US team
The German women's basketball team missed a surprise against top favorite USA, losing 68:87 (29:41) in the final preliminary round game in Lille on Sunday. The team, which had already qualified for the quarterfinals, had to bow to the Olympic serial winners.
The team coached by Bundestrainer Lisa Thomaidis finished the Olympic group stage in second place. Who Germany will face in the fight for a semi-final spot on Wednesday in Paris will be decided by the draw on Sunday evening.
Leonie Fiebich is a cause for concern. The performance carrier injured her hand in the third quarter and could not continue playing. Germany had already had to do without Nyara Sabally. The younger of the two Sabally sisters was not yet fully fit after her mild concussion from the opening game against Belgium and was therefore rested, also with an eye on the quarterfinal on Wednesday.
Strong German start
Even without the 22-year-old from WNBA club New York Liberty, the German team initially showed no respect for the seemingly invincible opponent. Especially Fiebich had set herself high goals. Fiebich, who plays in the WNBA together with Nyara Sabally and the two Americans Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart in New York, scored eight points in the first quarter.
This gave the 24-year-old a significant share in Germany's surprisingly clear 15:6 lead, which forced US coach Cheryl Reeve to call a first timeout. Fiebich's foot injury, which she had sustained against Japan, was no longer noticeable. After the first quarter, Germany was sensationally leading 19:16.
USA step up
The USA had to bring out their best performance so far to get the cheeky German team under control. With significantly more aggressive defense and focus, the US team, which last lost a game at the Olympics in 1992, turned the game around and was leading comfortably 12 points at halftime.
Numerous easy turnovers were provoked by the Americans' increased intensity. Five of these were on the account of Satou Sabally, who after a strong start acted a bit unlucky. After the break, Germany continued to put up a good fight and narrowed the gap to eight points (41:49). But after Fiebich's exit, the game was decided.
In the second quarter, the USA's aggressive defense and focus helped them take a comfortable lead over Germany. Despite Germany's efforts to keep up in the second half, they struggled after Fiebich's injury. Despite Fiebich's impressive eight-point performance in the first quarter, her injury in the third quarter served as a turning point for the game.
