A rampant United States set a new all-time women’s basketball World Cup scoring record Monday with a 145-69 demolition of South Korea, while Belgium, France and China all booked their place in the quarter-finals.
Eight of the Americans’ 12-strong roster hit double figures, led by Brionna Jones with 24 points, eight rebounds and one assist in Sydney.
A’ja Wilson drilled 20 points and Breanna Stewart 18 as the three-time defending champions ran riot with an overwhelming defensive display.
Shakira Austin netted a field goal with just seconds left to ensure the record, which was previously held by Brazil, who crushed Malaysia 143-50 in a group game at the 1990 tournament.
“I thought 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 USA coach Cheryl Reeve, whose all-conquering team beat their previous best of 119 points.—AFP
