In the opening day of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, France WNT beat Australia 70-57 in front of 9,000 fans as Gabby Williams led the way with 23 points to spoil the party for the Opals. The French WNT outscored the hosts 26-38 in the second half to run away with a huge win.
Japan cruised to a 89-56 triumph over Mali thanks to their 16 made threes. Young gun Aika Hirashita had a FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup debut to remember with 17 points.
Reigning champions USA got off to a winning start as they took down Belgium 87-72 and they were powered by two terrific performances from Alyssa Thomas and Breanna Stewart.
China cruised past Asian rivals Korea 107-44 after their first meeting against each other in the competition since 1990. Xu Han was too much for the Korean NT with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Canada came out strong and took a hard a hard-fought 67-60 victory against Serbia, holding their opponents to their lowest ever score in the competition. Kayla Alexander was impressive with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
Puerto Rico recorded its first-ever win in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup as they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 82-58. Ariella Guirantes was superb with 26 points. 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
