US set basketball World Cup record

SYDNEY - A rampant United States set a new all-time Women's Basketball World Cup scoring record on Monday with a 145-69 demolition of South Korea, while Belgium also booked their place in the quarter-finals.

Eight of the Americans' 12-strong roster hit doubles figures, led by Brionna Jones with 24 points, eight rebounds and one assist in Sydney.

A'ja Wilson drilled in 20 points, Kelsey Plum had 19 and Breanna Stewart 18 as the three-time defending champions ran riot, with Shakira Austin netting a field goal with just seconds left for the record.

It was previously held by Brazil, who crushed Malaysia 143-50 in a group game at the 1990 tournament.

"We got off to a bit of a slower start than we wanted, but we had a group that came in that really changed things for us," said US coach Cheryl Reeve, whose team are gunning for an 11th title overall.

"We got more pressure and I think our size, the number of points we got in the paint was 90 or something. So our size was a problem for them and I thought we shared the ball well."

The US, who had already qualified for the quarter-finals, were on another level both offensively and defensively, passing 30 or more points in all four frames against a Korean team who have struggled without marquee star Park Ji-su.

Defeat left the Asian side facing a crunch Group A game on Tuesday against Puerto Rico with a quarter-final slot at stake.

"I try to focus on how we played rather than the result of the game. I wanted our players to show their best ability and confidence on the court," said Korean coach Jung Sun-min.

"Individually I think we played very hard and very well today."

Meanwhile, point guard Hind Ben Abdelkader poured in 18 points for Belgium as they ended Bosnia and Herzegovina's tournament dreams. Aiming to better their fourth-placed finish in 2018, they swept home 85-55 to join the US and China in the last eight from Group A.

Kyara Linskens and Julie Vanloo both chipped in with 13 points for their third straight win of the 10-day competition after an opening-day 87-72 loss to Reeve's side.

Defeat ended any hope the Bosnians had in a hugely disappointing debut tournament, where they leaked 364 points over four consecutive defeats with Belgium successfully blunting the threat posed by dangerwoman Jonquel Jones.

"We played a very good defence on Jones and as a team, we were very focused," said Belgium coach Valery Demory.

Belgium guard Julie Allemand told the Fiba website: "It feels good because sometimes I think that we forget that we're small Belgium and it is only our second Women's World Cup. I think it's something we can be proud of. We still have to win the games, we still have to get better and better and I think we can be proud of this."

The top four teams from each of the two groups progress to the quarter-finals with China also qualifying from Pool A after they beat Puerto Rico 95-60 on Monday despite Trinity San Antonio's 19 points for the losing team. Chinese centre Li Yueru had a team-high 16 points to go with her eight rebounds and two assists.

In a tough Group B, France are already through to the quarter-finals and will be joined by Canada and hosts Australia, who defeated the Canadians 75-72 on Monday. Serbia are also through to the last eight after beating Mali 81-68.

Japan, who were missing the ball movement and relentless defence that defined their run to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics final, saw their participation come to an end with one win and three losses.

AFP