France puts in well-balanced effort to outlast Belgium in GLOBL Jam Women’s Semi-Final

TORONTO – A rematch of one of the fiercest home-and-away battles in the women’s round robin played out the same way once again as France won the first GLOBL JAM women’s semifinal in a struggle to the finish against Belgium 74 -73.

As they have every tournament, Belgium got off to a good start, and potentially their strongest all week, as they held France to just 12 points and tipped 20, seeing off a 5-0 run. to start the game but an even more impressive 8-0 run to lead 16-8 before the final two minutes of the quarter before France finally found their way back to the net.

Both Becky and Billie Massey made their presence felt at the rim early on while Emmeline Leblon came on from beyond the arc for Belgium.

However, France showed how resilient they can be and their ability to adapt to their opponents by scoring 32 points in the second quarter to reduce Belgium’s lead to just one point as France led 45-44. before halftime.

The well-balanced French effort that enjoyed success throughout the competition was on full display as five different scorers had six or more points by half-time, including Kadiatou Sissoko and Tima Pouye, both scoring eight points to lead the return charge.

Belgium continued to find their way to the net to try to hold on to their now slim lead, scoring 25 points in the quarter, thanks to Leblon, Becky Massey and captain Maxuella Lisowa-Mbaka, who all netted nine points at halftime. time.

With both teams having to call on the defense in the second half to try and stop their opponents’ new momentum, France managed to use their bench effectively despite Belgium’s stealthy defense which took advantage of numerous turnovers from the France earlier in the game.

While France only managed to score 13 points against a strong and physical Belgian team, they held on and kept Belgium to just 12 points and suddenly, at the end of the third quarter, the game was tied 57-57 with ten minutes remaining.

Lisowa-Mbaka’s four points in three minutes helped Belgium take a five-point lead to start the quarter, but Kendra Chery’s four points and a clutch three-pointer from captain Marine Fauthoux despite a day of shooting unusual drew. at 66-66 once again with just under five minutes to play.

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Fauthoux’s point-blank shots may not have fallen but as she continued to shoot 66% from beyond the arc, another three-pointer gave France a two-point lead with a just under four minutes to go as France continued to have more than enough gas. in the incoming tank in the final minutes of a back-and-forth battle.

Nastja Claessens took charge to try to block a win for Belgium with six points in the final quarter, but as Belgium turned the ball over and Fauthoux made one final drive to the basket for France, their captain secured Cart. and victory for a place in the final.

“I am very, very proud of my team. We fought until the end, we know that when you play twice in a row against a team, it’s never the same,” Fauthoux said.

« Belgium are a very tough team, it was very tough, but in the end all my team-mates played very hard and it’s a great win. »

Fauthoux finished the game with a team-leading 14 points, while Pouye and Sissoko both finished with 12. Janelle Salaun topped the boards for France to hold Belgium at bay with nine points and 10 rebounds in the victoire.

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As for Belgium, five different players finished with 11 or more points, but as the rest of their effort off the bench couldn’t keep up with France’s athleticism, they fell in a hard-fought game.

Lisowa-Mbaka led all scorers with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Billie Massey added a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double in the loss.

France will now face the winner of the semi-final between Canada and the United States, as Canada was the only team to emerge victorious against France in the round robin.

With the chip on their shoulder to fight for a win against the home team, France will be looking to improve ahead of the final.

« We really have to focus on ourselves, because we saw against Canada, against Belgium today, we started really badly, » Fauthoux said.

« I think we have to focus on ourselves and play really hard. »