Jacksonless Opals sweep world number four Brazil

Suzy Batkovic top-scored for the Opals with 17 points, adding six rebounds and six steals. Belinda Snell added 13 points and three other players contributed nine points apiece. Snell was also named the series’ Most Valuable Player.

Martins Da Costa led the Brazilians with 16 points while Evangelista Dantas contributed 12.

Australia
started the better of the two teams as Suzy Batkovic opened the Opals scoring on the first possession with a late shot clock drive for two. Emma Randall followed with a lay-up from a Penny Taylor pass to give the Australians a 4-0 start. Brazil answered quickly however and took a 7-6 lead on a power basket inside from Graziane.

The Brazilians got a stop and scored on their next possession to extend the margin to three-points before Australia lifted their defensive intensity to take back the initiative temporarily. The Brazilians refused to go away however and Opals coach Jan Stirling called a time out with 3:16 left in the opening period with the score tied at 12-12.

The tactic paid immediate dividends as a Rohanee Cox three-pointer started a late-period surge by the Australians. The Opals outscored the visitors 7-2 the rest of the way as Australia took a 19-14 lead into the first break. Australian bigs Batkovic (six points) and Emma Randall (five) both started and stepped up in the absence of Jackson to combine for 11 first-quarter points.

The second quarter started out as an arm wrestle, with neither team able to make a decisive run early. With 5:06 left in the half, the Opals led 25-19 as Brazil called a time-out. The low-scoring continued after the resumption of play however and the Australians took a 34-27 lead into the half, thanks largely to seven points from point guard Kristi Harrower in the period.

The Opals clearly had the best of the boards in the first half, out rebounding their opponents 19-11, but their 10 turnovers kept them from establishing the sort of dominance they displayed in game one of the series.

Australia made a 6-2 start to the second half as the Opals quickly opened up a double-digit edge, 40-29. The Brazilians refused to fold however and closed the gap to six with under four minutes remaining. Australia wrested back the momentum however and when Jennifer Screen nailed a transition three with 2:24 on the clock in the third, the Opals had surged back to a 55-40 lead and were looking every inch the world champions as Brazil called time. By the end of the third, the margin had grown slightly as Australia held a 59-43 advantage behind 12 points for the period from the explosive Snell.

The Australians tore into the Brazilians in the early stages of the final stanza, going on an 8-0 run that forced another Brazilian time-out and effectively ended the contest. The Brazilians fought valiantly down the stretch and made some inroads into the lead but ultimately the Australians were simply too good. Australia ran out easy winners 85-62 much to the delight of 3,743 strong crowd.

The Opals out rebounded the Brazilians 31-23 for the match and their fierce defence forced the visitors into 27 turnovers.

Australia fly out to China on Thursday for the Diamond Ball tournament before heading to Beijing for the Olympic Games.




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