The Opals were unable to start their 2022 FIBA Women’s World Championship with a win, falling 70-57 to France last night in a game that showed the Opals — particularly on offense — have plenty to do have to compete against the best teams in the world.
In the sold-out Sydney Superdome, with a capacity of 9,291, Australian fans were hoping to see an Opals win, but French superstar Gabby Williams had other ideas.
The stadium erupted when the legendary Lauren Jackson first checked in and the 41-year-old, who last played for Australia nine years ago, certainly gave Australia some good minutes in the first half and towards the end of the fourth quarter.
Though the Opals stayed within striking distance of France through the first three quarters, it was Australia’s struggles on offense that ultimately dashed their hopes of a comeback win.
The Opals’ inability to catch shots meant their defense could only keep them afloat for so long, and eventually France overcame the lead when Williams sunk a dagger triple in the final two minutes to end with a game-high 23 points complete at efficient 67 points shooting from the field percent.
While Williams was economical, Australia was anything but. The Opals closed on just 26 percent of shots from field and a meager 21.7 percent from depth. Shooting numbers like that and a total of 57 points just isn’t enough at a World Cup.
Sharpshooter Bec Allen will be key to everything Australia does in this tournament but she will need teammates to help share the load on offense.
Allen (16 points and 4 rebounds), the only Opal to score in double digits, kept the scoreboard ticking early in the game, but as France’s defensive intensity increased, Australia’s offense couldn’t take the pressure and turnovers picked up quickly.
You would be forgiven for thinking that after last night’s performance Australia don’t have a number of great shooters but that is not the case.
The likes of Sami Whitcomb, Steph Talbot and Darcee Garbin are all world-class shooters from deep, but they didn’t hit a single three-pointer in the game and went 0/10 from range. This was typical of Australia’s night, with the players unable to make the most of their strengths on the pitch and Ezi Magbegor also struggling to land the basket.
Many of Australia’s turnovers were the result of communication errors and lazy ball handling and when the rallies took their toll the Opals went back into their shells and ball action was all but non-existent.
The Opals need to get the ball into the hands of their shooters coming off the screens and not rely on them constantly creating their own shot as the clock ticks down.
Disturbingly, this game had a similar feel on the offensive end to the Tokyo Olympics campaign, where the Opals failed to get going offensively for much of the tournament and finished ninth overall.
The good news is that despite all the offensive problems, there were genuine positives to take from this game for Australia to build on, especially as they face a much lower ranked opponent, Mali, tonight.
Perhaps the greatest advantage was that Australia’s defense remained strong for much of the game. It was a defensive fight for much of the game and Steph Talbot led Australia with all his might and fury at that end of the floor.
Coach Sandy Brondello will have to think a lot about rotation going forward. And play by Kristy Wallace and Marianna Tolo – used sparingly – guaranteed both more playing time. Wallace is one of Australia’s best full-backs and her unrelenting attitude of never giving up and harassing opposing guards to the point of total frustration needs to be better exploited.
Her defensive work is elite, but by also giving her more responsibility for handling the ball it would help unleash the shooting brilliance of Whitcomb, who spent much of the night leading the Australian offense from the top of the key.
After playing just over two minutes in the first half of the game, Tolo came into her own in the third quarter, doing what she’s consistently done for the Opals throughout her career. Fight and scrap for team improvement.
Her third quarter changed the dynamic of the game. She came on as a substitute and quickly scored before helping to force France to a turnover and then made three tries within seconds that ended in an and-1 game that got the rowdy Australian crowd on their feet.
At times, the Opals lacked that manic but controlled attack on offense. It’s a fine line, especially in the opening game of a World Cup on home soil when the adrenaline is soaring, but one player who can add so much value in this aspect of the game is Anneli Maley.
The WNBL’s reigning MVP was the only Opal not to have time on the court last night. Putting them on rotation would make Australia more versatile up front.
While it was far from the ideal start to a Worlds campaign for the Opals, it’s certainly not all doom and gloom. France – ranked sixth in the world – are a very good team and will cause problems for many opponents during this tournament, but the Opals need to be better at dealing with the defensive pressure.
They also need to take more shots, which they should do if they’re paying attention to the ball.
The game against Mali – ranked No. 37 in the world – offers the Opals a golden opportunity to recover and build some momentum as the tournament really gets going.
