The ladies’s basketball quarterfinals on the 2024 Paris Olympics will start this Wednesday, Aug. 7, when Serbia (Group A) takes on Australia (Group C) at 5:00 a.m. ET. Shortly thereafter, Spain (Group A) will play Belgium (Group C) at 8:30 a.m. ET. Each quarterfinal video games shall be streamed stay by way of NBC Peacock.
The Olympic quarterfinals start after a short group (or “pool”) section by which every group performed its respective group opponents as soon as. Workforce data within the pool section decide quarterfinal seeding; of the 12 groups collaborating within the pool section, eight advance to the quarterfinals, with the quarterfinal draw emphasizing that every group will play an opponent that they had not already confronted in pool play, in keeping with the FIBA competitors system. Given that every group solely performs three video games apiece within the pool section, their data (and thus, quarterfinal seeding) is probably not solely indicative of their degree of expertise.
Moreover, the quarterfinals are single-elimination video games, that means that the profitable groups advance to the semifinals whereas the dropping groups are completed for the remainder of the Olympics. As with the remainder of the Olympics as a complete, groups should carry their finest, and there’s no margin for error in entrance of their worldwide viewers.
Serbia vs. Australia
5:00 a.m. ET; winner performs both Nigeria or the US
Australia has had one of many strongest nationwide packages on the earth for the reason that flip of the century, however they’re coming off a disappointing efficiency in 2020, after they gained only one sport within the Tokyo Olympics and had been bounced within the first spherical of the quarterfinals by the US. They’ve been higher to this point in Paris, and whereas the Aussies nonetheless don’t look fairly just like the powerhouses they had been within the early 2000s, they’ve gotten sufficient contributions from veterans comparable to Sami Whitcomb, Tess Madgen and Cayla George to supplant younger stars Ezi Magbegor, Alanna Smith and Jade Melbourne as they enter their athletic primes.
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The dearth of a go-to star harm Australia of their opening loss to Nigeria, however group efforts in opposition to Canada and France later in pool play secured their ticket to the quarterfinals. Neither win was overwhelming, however Australia has confirmed that it may well beat opponents in quite a few methods and with quite a few standout gamers; take the combo guard play of Whitcomb (19 factors and 10 assists vs. Canada) for instance, or the jack-of-all-trades skillset of Steph Talbot (seven factors, six rebounds and 5 assists vs. France).
Whereas Australia is searching for a bounce-back effort from the earlier Summer season Olympics, Serbia shall be trying to construct upon what they beforehand completed. With a third-place (bronze medal) end in Rio in 2016 and a fourth-place end in Tokyo in 2020, Serbia’s nationwide program is on the rise, they usually’ve been spectacular in Paris, too, going 2-1 in pool play with the very best cumulative level differential (+17) in Group A.
A lot of that time differential comes from an enormous 22-point win Serbia earned in opposition to China, and regardless of dropping a detailed sport to Group A winners Spain, Serbia appears to be like to have momentum on their aspect coming into the quarterfinals. They’ve one of many competitors’s prime playmakers in Yvonne Anderson (13.3 factors and 7 assists per sport) and three of their gamers averaged at the least two steals per contest in pool play. In addition they allowed the fewest factors per sport (61.3) of any nation through the competitors’s preliminary section.
Spain vs. Belgium
8:30 a.m. ET; winner performs both Germany or France
Judging solely by pool play document, Spain is likely one of the prime groups remaining within the competitors, coming into the quarterfinals with an ideal 3-0 mark. None of their wins had been blowouts—they defeated each China and Puerto Rico by one level and Serbia by eight—however they boast one of the crucial proficient guard/large duos in Leonor Rodriguez and Megan Gustafson, who’re averaging 15.7 and 17 factors per sport, respectively. Gustafson, specifically, has been magnificent, capturing 61.1 % from the sector whereas additionally chipping in 10 rebounds per sport.
Spain will want each little bit of that and extra in opposition to Belgium, who might have probably the most deceptive pool play statistics of any group within the quarterfinals. Belgium went 1-2 in opposition to Group C opponents, with losses to Germany and the United States, however stays an extremely harmful group after they’re rolling, as Japan discovered in a 27-point drubbing that in the end allowed them to sneak into the quarterfinals.
Taking heart stage for Belgium is worldwide famous person Emma Meesseman, who brings a wealth of ability and expertise to the nation’s frontcourt. Meesseman recorded maybe probably the most spectacular stat line of any participant in pool play in opposition to Japan, racking up 30 factors, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocks; she was joined in double-figure scoring by Elise Ramette, Antonia Delaere and Maxuella Lisowa-Mbaka in a dominant Belgian victory.
For sure, it’s the perfect Belgium has ever appeared on the Olympics, having solely certified for the competitors as soon as earlier than in 2020. Spain, then again, has far more historical past on their aspect, although one may additionally argue that they’ll be beneath stress to return to the shape that earned them a silver medal within the 2016 Rio Olympics after underachieving in Tokyo in 2020. Whatever the consequence, the person matchup of Meesseman vs. Gustafson is bound to be an excellent one, and there’s greater than sufficient complementary expertise on both aspect to ship an prompt basic.
