WOMEN'S BASKETBALL:
Australia 66, Ukraine 56
ATLANTA (Aug 4, 1996 -
22:53 EST) -- The
Australian women won the
country's first Olympic
basketball medal Sunday
with a 66-56 victory over
Ukraine in the bronze
medal game.
With a fourth place in
1988 the best previous
finish for an Australian
women's team -- a fourth
in 1988 and again this
year is the best the
Australian men ever
managed -- the victory
set off an emotional
celebration.
The team stayed in a
long hug at center court
before sprinting to join
family and friends in the
stands behind one of the
baskets.
"People said it
was just another big game
in a tournament, but
that's garbage. This was
for the bronze
medal," point guard
Michelle Timms said.
"It meant a lot to
us, I know it meant a lot
to Australian women's
basketball and it meant a
lot to the people who
supported us back
home."
The crowd favorite
throughout the tournament
because of its tight
lycra unitard uniforms,
Australia (5-3) came up
with a big performance
against Ukraine (4-4),
never leading by fewer
than seven during the
final 10 minutes.
With Timms, considered
one of the world's best
point guards, having a
below-par performance,
center
Michelle Brogan
responded with 19 points
and 12 rebounds. Reserve
guard Sandy Brondello
added 13 points.
Ukraine, which upset
Australia 54-48 in the
preliminary round, was
within 47-42 with 10:50
to play. But Jennifer
Whittle's 3-pointer
started an 8-1 run in
which Brogan and
Brondello scored the rest
of the points to give
Australia a 12-point lead
with 7:05 left.
"You don't need
to analyze it. We shot 22
percent in that first
game. You're not going to
win with that,"
Australia coach Tom Maher
said of the earlier
meeting. "We didn't
change anything. We just
made some shots."
Timms, who came into
the game averaging 16.9
points, had four points
on 1-for-8 shooting.
"When we play
well, I actually don't
score," Timms said.
"When I score well,
we lose. That's what we
really needed. We needed
points across the board
rather than one person
scoring all the points.
It was fantastic to see
everybody step up like
that."
Yelena Zhirko led
Ukraine, the surprise
team in the semifinals in
its Olympic debut, with
16 points and nine
rebounds.
Australia lost 93-71
to the United States in
the semifinals, while
Ukraine was beaten 81-60
by Brazil.
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