Isla Juffermans (R) of Australia vies for the ball during the final match against China at the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Basketball Championship in Bengaluru, India, Sept. 11, 2022. (Str/Xinhua)
Australia won their first FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship title, ending China's run as five-time consecutive champions in the competition.
NEW DELHI, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Australia beat defending champions China 81-55 in the final of the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship in Bengaluru, India, on Sunday.
In their first appearance in the tournament's final, Australia shot 47.9% from the field and outperformed China 56-26 in rebounds.
Isla Juffermans led Australia with a double-double of 26 points and 15 rebounds. Dallas Loughridge and Nyadiew Puoch helped with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
Li Qingyang (R) of China vies for the ball. (Str/Xinhua)
Juffermans scored eight points to move Australia ahead 22-14 as the first quarter expired.
Wang Jing scored five straight points to help China pull the game back 21-26 early in the second quarter, but Juffermans continued her scoring output by contributing eight of Australia's 10 points to open the period. Australia made the most of late 3-pointers from Sophie Burrows and Tess Heal to establish a 44-30 advantage at halftime.
Ge Jiaying (R) of China and Isla Juffermans of Australia vie for the ball. (Str/Xinhua)
China's efforts to increase the game tempo after the interval failed to come to fruition, as they could not keep Australian paint duo Puoch and Juffermans at bay. Australia expanded their lead to 20 points after Puoch's layup and looked well on their way to the title with a 17-point margin in hand going into the final frame.
China went scoreless in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, and Australia held firm to stand on top.
China never led during the game. Wang Jing was the only Chinese player to reach double figures with 16 points.
Earlier on Sunday, Japan got past Chinese Taipei 77-45 to take the bronze. ■