yogee
Years ago
Opals - Olympics warm up tournament
The Price Attack Opals have beaten Russia, who are ranked 2nd in the world, in a tournament game in Valencia, Spain overnight.
The result was 60-55, with Belinda Snell one of the main scorers, with 20 points and 7 boards. Suzy Batkovic scored 11 with 8 rebounds, and Krsiti Harrower scored 7 with 5 boards.
The Opals, who literally had just got off the plane flying out from Australia, got off to a sluggish start, trailing 21-31 at half time.
Snell managed for early steals in the second half, and scored 10 points in consecutive plays for the Opals, and with solid contributions from Batkovic and Olympics veteran Rachael Sporn, the Opals dominated the second half.
"Our poor first half was understandable, given the draining aspects of our travel," Opals head coach Jan Stirling said after the game. "But our persistence certainly paid off as we became more efficient at both ends of the court.
"Defeating Russia in these circumstances and with two of our starting players still to join the team was very pleasing. Whilst they too are not at full strength the game has enabled us to evaluate areas that we know need improvement before we get into the major competition of the Olympic Games.
Reflecting on the Opals medals chances in Athens, Stirling continued "Russia will definitely play-off for a medal in Athens so it was a good psychological win for us."
The Opals next match is against Belgium tonight, in Valencia.
