Olympics | France edge off Belgium in overtime to face U.S. in women's basketball final

PARIS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- France won a rollercoaster 81-75 semifinal against Belgium in overtime here on Friday to set up a gold medal match with the United States in the Olympic women's basketball competition.

The U.S. thrashed Australia 85-64 in the other semi as they dominated in every aspect of the match.

Belgium had the upper hand early in the game as they led 17-10 in the first quarter, but a 19-1 run bridging two quarters saw France go up by 29-18.

The story did not end as Belgium turned the tables in the third quarter to regain the driving seat at 46-31 with a 28-2 run. France tried everything to keep themselves in the game to close in by 51-48 at the end of the third quarter.

Another 11-2 spurt in the fourth quarter put France ahead again by 59-53, and they maintained the slim advantage to 66-60 with less than one minute to go.

Julie Vanloo made three free-throws after being fouled behind the arc and Emma Meesseman buried a game-tying 3-pointer for Belgium with 8.2 seconds left to send things into overtime.

Gabby Williams, who had 18 points, scored five straight points after the start of overtime, and made a running lay-up as well as two free-throws to ensure an unsinkable 80-75 lead for France with 14 seconds remaining.

The U.S. advanced into the Olympic women's basketball final for the eighth consecutive time, and the defending champions are seeking their eighth Olympic gold medal in a row.

Dating back to 1996 Atlanta, the U.S. women's team has never lost a match at the Olympic Games, keeping a winning streak of 60-0 since the bronze-medal final at Barcelona 1992.

Breanna Stewart led the Americans with 16 points as they led 73-43 at the end of the third quarter.

The men's counterpart final is also between hosts France and the U.S., scheduled for Saturday night.