Belgium, European champion, stands in the way of the Blues towards the Olympic final. Beaten last year by the “Belgian Cats” at the EURO, the French want to take their revenge. The Belgians make a series of fouls under the circle, Johannès makes two free throws and gives his team a 3-point advantage Liana Rupert's rage after her two free throws made and which allow the Blues to move back in front on the scoreboard. Two successful free throws from Ayayi, more than a point difference between France and Belgium Thanks to two free throws from Gaby Williams, the Blues come back to 3 points before the last quarter. 3 points for Salaun on a nice counter, France comes back to 5 points Claessens responds to a basket by Fauthoux. 51-43 for Belgium Superb three-point basket by Gaby Williams, France returns to five points Gaby Williams infiltrates the Belgian defense and scores a nice basket (38-46) Rupert is precise on a prize shot and reduces the gap to 10 points. The French are looking for a second wind Finally a basket for the Blues after 7 minutes of drought, it's Gaby Williams who scores 2 points While Topane has brought in Fauthoux, Julie Vanloo scores a superb 3-point basket (31-44), 13 points difference in favor of the Belgian Cats A 3-point basket for Massey then another 2 points for Weesseman. 31-41 for Belgium. It's been over 5 minutes since the French scored It's back to Bercy Arena. The Blues are five points behind The French are being pushed around by the Belgians who have just scored (16-2) against the Blues in 6 minutes. A reaction is expected after the break. Les Bleues miss all their offensive attempts. Vanloo adds 2 points to Belgium's lead READ MORE
22:36 – 34' – Two more points by Johannès (54-51)
22:34 – 33' – Rupert puts France back in front (52-51)
22:32 – 32' – Ayayi impeccable shooting (50-51)
22:28 – 30' – Only 3 points left (48-51)
22:23 – Claessens responds to Fauthoux
22:22 – 27' – Gaby Williams again with the baton (41-46)
22:20 – 26' – Things are looking better for the French (38-46)
22:16 – 24' – Rupert relieves the Blues (36-46)
22:13 – 23' – Gaby Williams signals the French reaction (33-46)
22:11 – 22' – Julie Vanloo hurts the Blues (31-41)
22:09 – 21' – Too easy for Belgium (31-41)
22:08 – Start of the second half
21:51 – 20' – Les Bleues in a complicated period (31-36)
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116